An independent councillor has expressed concern over a lack of council scrutiny during the coronavirus lockdown.
Blackwood councillor Nigel Dix has written to the council chief executive outlining his worry that decisions are being made without councillors having the ability to question them.
In his letter, Cllr Dix said: “As council has shut down, resulting in no scrutiny of decisions that have been made and with officers having delegated powers, I am very concerned that elected members are not able to provide their crucial role of scrutinising any decisions.
“You will appreciate that there are a number of controversial [planning] applications, such as the Cwm Gelli site in Blackwood.
“I am asking that all such contested and controversial applications are not progressed until we get back to normal, this will ensure that elected members’ and the public’s legitimate concerns are heard and addressed.”
A Caerphilly County Borough Council spokesman said: “Caerphilly, like all other local authorities, is having to do things differently due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions.
“We have reshaped and reconfigured our organisation over recent weeks and this includes changing the way we take decisions.
“All decision-making procedures are in accordance with the council’s constitution, but we are also actively looking at holding meetings in the future using digital and remote working technology, as legislation allows.”
Meanwhile, the UK Parliament has approved plans to allow ‘hybrid’ proceedings to take place.
The scheme allows a maximum of around 50 Members of Parliament to be present in the Chamber – under social distancing measures – with up to 120 MPs being able to participate remotely.
Since restrictions were introduced to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Welsh Assembly has been adapting its way of working.
It held its first virtual Plenary session earlier this month for members.
This was the first time that parliamentary proceedings had been conducted by a Parliament in the UK via video-conferencing, and the first time in the world that it had been done bilingually with simultaneous translation.
[asp_product id=”984702″]