MEETINGS of the Isle of Wight Council will be held online from next month — after coronavirus temporarily halted all meetings.

From June, committee meetings will head online using Microsoft Teams — with the eight meetings scheduled to take place in May all cancelled.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, elements of the normal democratic processes were suspended so the council could respond to the virus.

Social distancing measures were thought of, as well as the need to stay at home.

The Coronavirus Act was passed through by government recently, which included changes to the law about how local authorities could conduct committee meetings.

Due to that, the council said it is important that any facility used to enable online meetings to support the democratic process are both user-friendly and secure, and processes detailed to make virtual management of committees effective — with trials and tests taking place.

Council leader, Cllr Dave Stewart, said: "The council was in a strong position to accept this challenge having invested in Microsoft Office 365 last year as the main organisational technology tool and new ICT kit.

"The technology and our behaviours have advanced at pace in response to Covid-19 to enable organisations to operate as effectively as possible, digitally.

"Our staff were already in a great position to work differently having become agile in their ways of working over the past 18 months.

"This ability to manage our meetings virtually is testament to the changing technology and the behaviours of our council teams to work differently to continue to deliver services during this time.

"Our office-based staff and others have been working from home since lockdown was announced.

"Everyone has become very adept at working in this way and it is fantastic that we can now start to move back towards a ‘new normal’.

"I am very much looking forward to the reinstatement of our committee meetings and the involvement of all members in our response to coronavirus but also in ensuring the delivery of our critical services continues to meet the needs of the whole community."

A virtual committee timetable has been put in over the next three months — which allows councillors and council officers to be able to work from home and enable the democratic process to continue. Meetings can be found here.

The council’s annual general meeting, which normally takes place in May, has been rescheduled for September.

A number of town and parish councils across the Island have already been successfully holding meetings online. Some have been halted due to internet speeds, older computers with no webcams and other connectivity issues.