A COVID outbreak amongst York councillors has led to meetings this evening - including an extraordinary one considering whether the Duke of York should be stripped of his freedom of the city status - going virtual.

And because legislation does not not currently allow decisions to be taken remotely, any votes will have to be ratified by the council’s chief operating officer.

The LibDem coalition administration announced last night that a number of councillors had contracted Covid in the past week as the number of cases rose in the city.

A spokesperson said that in a bid to protect vulnerable councillors, staff and residents, the full council meeting would now be held remotely, as had been practised during previous stages of the pandemic.

They said that as there was currently no legislation that would enable decisions to be made remotely, decisions made by councillors at the remote meeting would have to be ratified by the council’s chief operating officer.

They said that following meetings and discussions between council leaders and officers, the majority of political group leaders - except the Labour and Conservative groups - had agreed to take steps to allow the meeting to happen remotely, in order to minimise the spread of infection.

Tory group leader Paul Doughty condemned the decision and said he believed it may be unlawful.

"I have asked the Monitoring Officer at City of York Council to provide the legislative powers that allows for this," he said.

"It seems the Liberal Democrats have ‘encouraged’ the Chief Operating Officer into making this decision because several members of their group have Covid.

"The correct procedure would be for those members to have stayed away from the meeting in the same way anyone unwell would.

"This smacks of sheer desperation by the LibDems and I don’t understand how they can have the audacity to just abort formal Democratic meetings.

"They must be concerned that voting at the meeting may not have gone their way. Online meeting votes do not hold legal power and therefore the Chief Operating Officer can handily overrule any democratic decisions deemed ‘wrong.' "

Labour has also condemned the decision, which it said it came after some Liberal Democrat councillors tested positive for Covid and claimed it meant the meeting wasn’t legal.

A spokesperson said that over the past two years, when councillors had tested positive, they had been required to absent themselves.

"However, under pressure from ruling Lib Dem councillors, the council’s top officer has acquiesced and taken the decision to move the meeting online with less than 24 hours’ notice," they said.

Labu8r group leader Peter Kilbane claimed:“This decision has little to do with keeping people safe and everything to do with ensuring the Greens and Lib Dems don’t lose their majority in the council meeting.

“A handful of councillors becoming ill does not warrant the use of emergency powers to cancel the in-person meeting.

"If other workplaces followed this logic half of York would be shut. If residents are being told to live with Covid then the council must follow the same rules.

“We have been informed that the reality is that if senior officers insisted on this meeting taking place in person then Lib Dem Councillors infected with Covid would attend the meeting.

Cllr Carol Runciman, LibDem executive member for health and adult social care, said: "Health, wellbeing and safety is absolutely paramount at this time, and whilst national restrictions have eased, we are seeing another Covid infection spike sweep the country.

"Unfortunately, this latest wave of infections has also affected a number of councillors. Therefore, in order to protect many vulnerable colleagues, who are following public health guidance, a decision has been made to hold the upcoming full council meeting remotely.

“By doing so, this will allow all members, even those who are currently isolating, to participate in the debate on various important matters on the agenda, including the council’s governance framework – the constitution, and minimise the risk of passing the virus on to others.

“Whilst we are seeing gradually life return to normal, in reality Covid is still very much around us and directly impacting our NHS and the most vulnerable. In order not to waste the sacrifices made by so many in the last two years, we should continue to take all reasonable precautions to keep ourselves and the city safe.”

LibDem council leader Keith Aspden thanked colleagues who had 'worked together to ensure a fair democratic process can take place, whilst protecting vulnerable colleagues and members of staff.'

He added: "It would not be appropriate for councillors who are still infectious to attend a public meeting, especially when the meeting can be held virtually, with decisions ratified by the council’s chief operating officer.

“Many councils across the country, including neighbouring councils in North Yorkshire, have held most or even all of their major meetings remotely to protect councillors and staff and set best public health example.

"Government have still not enabled councils to take full advantage of the safety and flexibility of remote meetings.

"We reiterate our calls for this be urgently considered, as the current lack of legislation is effectively compelling councillors to consider breaking public health guidance, putting their colleagues, staff and members of the public in danger.”