Government move to allow councils to send agendas electronically welcomed

Published 14th March 2014 by SLCC

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has told the Communities and Local Government Committee that the Government plans to legislate to allow councillors to be sent agendas for council meetings electronically.

It was raised during the Committee’s #AskPickles evidence session that councils are currently required to send councillors meeting agendas in hard copy. A number of Twitter users, including several parishes, had submitted questions asking the Government to change the law so that councils could send agendas electronically, something for which SLCC has been pressing for several years.

Commenting, Clive Betts MP, Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, said:

“I was surprised to learn that councils in the 21st Century are prevented by law from sending out electronic copies of their agendas. Judging by the number of tweets we received, however, this is certainly a matter of concern for those working in local government.  We hope to run another #AskPickles session within a year."