Virtual meetings

• Format of meetings
• After the meeting
• How to participate in virtual meetings
• Deputations
• Public questions

Format of meetings

The council will be holding some committee and cabinet meetings virtually (or part-virtually, part in-person) due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 

To check whether meetings will be (part) virtual, browse the calendar of meetings and click on the meeting you are interested in watching. This takes you to the Agenda page for the meeting and you will then need to click ‘Agenda Frontsheet’ PDF link near the top of the page - this will open a PDF file.

If the meeting is in person, the agenda will set out the physical location of the meeting.  If the meeting is (part) virtual, it will have a blue link – you can click this link to open the virtual part of the meeting through Microsoft Teams. You will see a blank screen until the meeting starts at the scheduled time.

If you do not have broadband facilities or you have any issues, you can contact Democratic Services on making.your.voice.heard@haringey.gov.uk or contact the Democratic Services person named on the relevant agenda page. 

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After the meeting

A video recording will also be available online after the meeting. You can find these in the Committee Meetings playlist on our YouTube channel (external link).

You can also continue to view archived meetings of Full Council, Cabinet, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and Planning meetings.

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How to participate in virtual meetings

Members of the public wanting to participate in council meetings are still able to do so by putting forward a deputation or questions using the procedure set out below. By participating in the meeting, residents are consenting to being recorded and published as part of an online webcast. Planning committee has a separate process for public representations and this is set out in the Planning committee protocol (PDF, 373KB).

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Deputations

• More information can be found on our Deputations page

The following changes are in place for virtual meetings.

In view of current social distancing measures, the statement of issues/concerns can be accompanied by either an electronic signature or photograph of the handwritten signature of each of the Haringey residents supporting the deputation.

This will need to be submitted electronically to making.your.voice.heard@haringey.gov.uk or directly to the Democratic Services or Scrutiny Officer listed as the meeting co-ordinator.

If your deputation is accepted, the Democratic Services Officer will provide you with some guidance on how to access the meeting. There will usually be an option to attend in person or, if required, to attend online. 

For those joining online, you will need to:

• Download the free Microsoft Teams app to access the meeting by video link; or
• Use the Microsoft Teams web link that will be generated for you to access the meeting; or
• Use a telephone to call a conference number - this will allow you to speak at the meeting

If the above are impractical for you then you can also ask the Democratic Services Officer or your ward councillor to read the statement on your behalf. For more detailed advice please speak to the Democratic Services officer named on the meeting’s Agenda page.

The Chair of the meeting will allow one additional deputation spokesperson admittance to the meeting to speak in place of the deputation spokesperson in the event of any technical or other issues and/or to respond to questions asked of the deputation. Their email address/telephone details will need to be provided to the Democratic Services Officer at the submission stage to allow guidance to be provided on access to the meeting. They will need to join the meeting in the same way as the deputation spokesperson, as set out above.

If Democratic Services cannot establish or maintain a connection from the virtual meeting to either of the deputation spokespersons, the Chair will ask the Democratic Services Officer to read out the statement submitted. Should any speaker be unable to participate in the meeting, they are encouraged to nevertheless watch proceedings by streaming the meeting online from the Council’s website (see above).

After speaking, the deputation will continue as a participant in the meeting for the remainder of the relevant item on the agenda. The deputation will then be removed as a participant in the meeting and there will be a short pause to allow time for them to re-establish a connection to watch or hear the remainder of the meeting.

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Public questions

• More information can be found on our Asking questions at meeting page

The following changes are in place for virtual meetings.

Notice of the question should be sent to making.your.voice.heard@haringey.gov.uk or emailed directly to the Democratic Services officer co-ordinating the meeting.

If your question is accepted, the Democratic Services Officer will provide you with some further guidance on how you will access the meeting. You will need to:

• Download the free Microsoft Teams app to access the meeting by video link; or
• Use the Microsoft Teams web link that will be generated for you to access the meeting; or
• Use a telephone to call a conference number - this will allow you to speak at the meeting

If the above are impractical for you then you can also ask the Democratic Services Officer or your ward councillor to read out the question on your behalf. For more detailed advice please speak to the Democratic Services Officer named on the meeting’s Agenda page.

The person asking a question will continue as a participant in the meeting while a response is given to the question. They will then be removed as a participant in the meeting and there will be a short pause to allow time for them to re-establish a connection to watch or hear the remainder of the meeting.

If the Democratic Services cannot establish or maintain a connection from the virtual meeting to the person asking a question, the Chair will ask the Democratic Services Officer to read out the question submitted. Should any person asking a question be unable to participate in the meeting, they are encouraged to nevertheless watch proceedings by streaming the meeting.

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