Hybrid States meeting is expected at end of month
NEXT week's States meeting is expected to be another hybrid one.
The announcement comes as case numbers in the Bailiwick dropped from 1,700 at the start of last week to just more than 700 as of yesterday.
At the beginning of the States meeting on Wednesday 26 January there will be a vote on the recommendation from the States’ Assembly & Constitution Committee that hybrid status is allowed.
If successful it means that States members will have the option of being physically present in the Royal Court Chamber, or working from home through Microsoft Teams.
Instead of the customary shouts of ‘pour’ or ‘contre’, those working remotely vote through the chat function in Teams.
When they speak, their faces are beamed up onto a big screen at the back of the room in the public gallery.
Previous hybrid meetings have proved technically challenging, with sound problems, echoing feedback, groaning noises, and repeated queries of ‘can you hear me?’.
However, the States Chamber is regarded as a workplace and the States Assembly and Constitution Committee did not want to fly in the face of the States' own Public Health advice.
The current guidance states that people should work from home where possible.
Some deputies regard a hybrid meeting as suboptimal and they miss the hustle and bustle of proper parliament.
It is anticipated that some will vote against the hybrid proposal.
Deputy Neil Inder has already taken to social media to say he will not support further hybrid meetings as he felt the end of the pandemic was nigh.
The January meeting of the States is expected to be fairly quiet, with Covid regulations a main discussion point.
n The Civil Contingencies Authority is meeting today to discuss a timetable for relaxing the island’s Covid rules.
It comes as Covid cases drop sharply. There were 127 new cases identified over the three days from Friday to Sunday, while 618 people recovered over the same period.
It means there are 718 active Covid cases, of which 41 are in Alderney and three in Sark. There are currently three people in hospital with Covid.
