Item 8-Appendix 1
West Dunbartonshire Council · 27 August 2025
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 27 August 2025 and its agenda
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AssessmentNo 292 Owner GHAWTHORN Resource Transformation Service/Establishment Regulatory First Name Surname Job title Head Officer George Hawthorn Manager of Democratic and Registration Services (include job titles/organisation) Members Peter Hessett, Strategic Lead - Regulatory Alan Douglas, Manager of Legal Services (Please note: the word 'policy' is used as shorthand for stategy policy function or financial decision) Policy Title Hybrid Council and committee meetings The aim, objective,purpose and intended out come of policy If agreed, the aim would be to introduce a system which would enable formal meetings to take place with some members and officers in the same room with others participating from home via videoconferencing. Service/Partners/Stakeholders/service users involved in the development and/or implementation of policy. Elected Members and Officers of the Council. Does the proposals involve the procurement of any goods or services? Yes If yes please confirm that you have contacted our procurement services to discuss your requirements. Yes SCREENING You must indicate if there is any relevance to the four areas Duty to eliminate discrimination (E), advance equal opportunities (A) or foster good relations (F) Yes Relevance to Human Rights (HR) No Relevance to Health Impacts (H) No Relevance to Social Economic Impacts (SE) No Who will be affected by this policy? Elected Members and Officers of the Council Who will be/has been involved in the consultation process? All elected members have been consulted on the proposal and there was a very mixed response. Some members who have underlying health conditions were opposed to the proposal and advised they could not attend meetings in person during the current covid-19 pandemic. Others expressed the view that it was their democratic right to meet face to face subject to social distancing, hand cleaning, etc, and welcomed the proposal. Please outline any particular need/barriers which equality groups may have in relation to this policy list evidence you are using to support this and whether there is any negative impact on particular groups. Needs Evidence Impact Age Cross Cutting Disability Members with hearing impairments may find it difficult Other local authorities have tried hybrid Some members will not hear the full discussion and may APPENDIX 1
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to hear discussion taking place in chamber when working from home. meetings and reports were received that those participating from home could not hear all of the conversations in the meeting room due to poor acoustics. It has already been established that acoustics in the Civic Space is poor and therefore there is a risk that members at home, especially if they have a hearing impairment, may not hear clearly. feel that they are not fully involved in the meeting. Social & Economic Impact Sex Gender Reassign Health Members who have underlying health conditions do not feel that they have the option to attend meetings and therefore may feel that they are discriminated against due to their health condition. In response to the consultation, those Members with health conditions made it clear that they could not attend in person. Members with health conditions may feel that they do not have the same status as those attending in person. Human Rights Marriage & Civil Partnership Pregnancy & Maternity Race Religion and Belief Sexual Orientation Actions Policy has a negative impact on an equality group,but is still to be implemented, please provide justification for this. Report will recommend that hybrid meetings should not be implemented. Will the impact of the policy be monitored and reported on an ongoing bases? If the recommendation of report is supported there will be no impact as all members are able to participate equally from home at present. Q7 What is you recommendation for this policy? Don't Introduce
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Please provide a meaningful summary of how you have reached the recommendation The introduction of hybrid meetings could have a negative impact on those elected members who, due to underlying health conditions and those who have hearing impairments. They may not be able to hear the full discussion in the chamber due to poor sound quality and/or their disability and therefore may feel that they are not able to participate as fully as those members in the chamber.