Council chair to continue for a few months

Powys County Council's chairman is to continue in the role for several more months due to the coronavirus situation.

Powys County Councillor Beverley Baynham had been due to relinquish the position at the end of her 12 months.

But due to the coronavius pandemic striking and the lockdown, Cllr Baynham could continue in  her role for several more months.

The council annual meeting was supposed to take place on Thursday, 14 May, but it was cancelled.

Cllr Baynham, said:  “Myself, the chief executive Dr Caroline Turner and monitoring officer, Clive Pinney agreed to postpone the annual meeting but as yet no decision has been made as to when it will take place.

“We have to just wait and see how it all plays out and when we are safe to hold the meeting.

“Depending on the time frame I may continue for a short while or perhaps longer?

“It really is up in the air at the moment.”

Cllr Baynham added: “I am very happy to continue in the role but would of course have preferred to hand over to the new Chairman in normal circumstances, as I am sure we all wish Covid-19 had never arrived.”

At the annual meeting, the membership of all the council committees as well as allocating councillors to serve on outside bodies, such as the fire authority or police and crime panel takes place.

Legally local authorities are expected to hold an annual meeting in the spring, between March 1 to May 31.

But under the Local Authorities (Coronavirus) (Meetings) (Wales) Regulations 2020 that came into force in April all local authorities in Wales have until the end of the year, December 31, to hold an annual meeting.

The next PCC full council meeting is earmarked for Thursday, 9 July.

 

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service