In light of the Government’s guidance on social distancing, between 23 March and 30 April 2020, all of the Council’s public decision making meetings have been cancelled. This will be kept under review on a regular basis.

Alternative decision making arrangements have been put in place for any decisions which need to be made during the COVID-19 outbreak. In many cases, this will involve the Leader of the Council making decisions normally made by the Cabinet. Any urgent decisions which would have been made at Council meetings will be taken by the Chief Executive. For other committee meetings, decisions will be taken by officers. 

All such decisions will be made after consulting the appropriate councillors and decisions, and any associated reports, will be published on our website.

Leader of the Council, Steve Darling, said: “These are unprecedented times and it is only right that we follow government guidance on social distancing to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19. I will be reviewing this change of working before the 1 of June and consulting with Council colleagues before making any further extension to these powers.”

Deputy Leader, Darren Cowell, said: “As a partnership we know how important it is to be open and transparent about any decisions that we make, particularly under these circumstances. You have our reassurance that any decisions that are made will be published for all to see on our website.” 

We are updating our service changes as we have information, please visit the Torbay Council website at https://www.torbay.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/public-health/coronavirus/service-changes/