A £70,000 IT system will be installed in Moray Council chambers to allow hybrid meetings to take place, as part of the local authority’s recovery from the pandemic.
At the moment the council’s committee meetings are being held virtually, with elected members and officers joining in remotely from home.
With the return to office based working, the new system will allow those who are self isolating or cannot attend meetings in person to take part.
Funding for the scheme will come from money granted to the council by Scottish Government to aid recovery and was agreed by members last year.
New system will replace outdated 15-year-old model
The new model will replace the existing sound system, which was installed more than 15 years ago and is incompatible with holding hybrid meetings.
Members of the public will still be able to watch and listen to committee meetings as they happen through the webcast function on the council’s website.
Work to install the system will take place in April and it is expected to be up and running in time for the new council in May.
As well as hosting committee meetings, the chamber is also used for staff training.
Elgin Community Council also held its meetings there prior to the pandemic.
Moray Council early pace setters
Council leader Graham Leadbitter said: “Throughout our response to the pandemic we have had to find new and innovative ways of working, and going forward will be no different.
“Using external funding we are updating the system in the council chambers to allow hybrid meetings to take place and still be webcast. That’s being installed in April in time for the new council.
“Moray Council was one of the first local authorities to webcast its meetings and in keeping with that accessibility, we are likely to be an early adopter of hybrid meeting.
“The chamber is not only used for committee meetings but training and briefing sessions, and these systems also support wider staff use.”
