High Court dismisses legal challenge to continue LA remote meetings after 6 May

A High Court judge has dismissed a legal challenge seeking to extend local authority (LA) remote meetings beyond 6 May, noting that it recognised ‘powerful arguments in favour of permitting remote meetings’ but that ‘there are also arguments against doing so’.

… such meetings must take place at a single, specified geographical location…

The ‘Approved Judgment’ records (as part of the ‘Conclusion’):

[89] For these reasons, we conclude that the Secretary of State was correct in November 2016 and July 2019 to say that primary legislation would be required to allow local authority “meetings” under the 1972 Act to take place remotely. In our view, once the Flexibility Regulations cease to apply, such meetings must take place at a single, specified geographical location; attending a meeting at such a location means physically going to it; and being “present” at such a meeting involves physical presence at that location.

[90]We recognise that there are powerful arguments in favour of permitting remote meetings. But, as the consultation documents show, there are also arguments against doing so. The decision whether to permit some or all local authority meetings to be conducted remotely, and if so, how and subject to what safeguards, involves difficult policy choices on which there is likely to be a range of competing views. These choices have been made legislatively for Scotland by the Scottish Parliament and for Wales by the Senedd. In England, they are for Parliament, not the courts….

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