(1)The meetings of a local authority and its committees, including joint committees, and sub-committees thereof may (as well as being conducted in the way in which they have been conducted before the commencement of this section, that is to say, by all members being present together in a pre-determined place) be conducted in any other way in which each member is enabled to participate although not present with others in such a place.
(2)A meeting shall be conducted by virtue of subsection (1) above, however, only on the direction of the convener, whom failing, the deputy convener of the authority, committee or, as the case may be, sub-committee.
(3)Schedule 7 (meetings and proceedings of local authorities) to the 1973 Act has effect in relation to meetings so conducted as if—
(a)paragraph 1(3) (place of meetings) and the reference in paragraph 2(1)(a) to the place of an intended meeting were omitted; and
(b)the references in paragraphs 3 to 7 and 10 to the presence of members were references to their participation in a meeting so conducted.
(4)In paragraph 2 of that Schedule, in each of sub-paragraphs (1)(b) and (2)(b), the words “by post” are repealed.