Councils are debating whether to spend thousands of pounds to continue live steaming their meetings.
In contrast, when everyone logs in individually via a system such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, it can be easier to show clearly the current speaker in full view.
"I take that, pop it on a tripod on a seat where a member of the public would be sat and stream live," he explains. The charity Speakers' Corner Trust published a report last year about the impact that virtual council meetings have had on engagement in local democracy. But because of current technological disparities at councils around the country, she notes that having online access to live meetings can depend largely on where you live.
He too thinks public engagement is up. "My email inbox has probably doubled," and he argues that the government should have allowed English councils to continue meeting virtually.