Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, while national COVID-19 restrictions remain in force, what powers local councils have to ensure that all those who attend council meetings have tested negative for COVID-19 before they are permitted entry.

Ultimately it is for individual local authorities to satisfy themselves that they have met the requirements for public access and apply the COVID-19 guidance to ensure meetings take place safely. Government has published updated guidance to highlight ways in which councils can, if necessary, minimise the need for, or risks of, face-to-face meetings.