The District Councils’ Network has responded to local government minister Jim McMahon’s call for a discussion on the potential merits of holding hybrid virtual/in-person council meetings.

In response to a question on the issue from Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, Mr McMahon said the Government sought to ensure local government was “modern, efficient, flexible and diverse”, and that barriers preventing people from serving their communities are broken down.

“Allowing hybrid meetings could be a helpful step in doing that and we are keen to work with the sector to have an evidence-based discussion about its merits,” he added.

In response, Trevor Holden, lead chief executive of the District Councils’ Network, said: “We believe it should be for individual councils to decide whether meetings are held remotely so we very much welcome this discussion.

“We agree with the Government that barriers that limit participation – especially by women, working-age people and minority ethnic groups – must be overcome, and the ability to hold remote or hybrid meetings could be one way of doing this.”