Reading’s first ever virtual council meeting took place on Monday evening, with no public speaking allowed.

Councillors discussed the coronavirus outbreak and approved the new system of decision-making via Microsoft Teams at the Policy committee meeting.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) meetings are now being held on the conference calling app, with video posted the next day on Youtube.

The historic first virtual meeting did not go completely smoothly, with Virgin Media internet issues across the UK causing half of the members to lose connection but the meeting was still able to go ahead under the new rules.

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Questions from members of the public and councillors are now being simply published in written form.

This means members of the public will no longer be able to speak at these meetings nor ask a supplementary question to clarify aspects of an answer.

But council leader Jason Brock said he wants the public to be able to read out questions at meetings “as quickly as possible”.

Green Party councillor Rob White voted in support of the new system, but added he is looking forward to public questions being built back into the process as soon as possible.

Unusually, there were no questions sent in by the public this week.

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Councillor questions went ahead, with three asked, all by councillor Rob White.

He asked for an update on care homes, vulnerable children and personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the coronavirus crisis, expressing concerns over the three areas,  but did not ask any supplementary questions.

On care homes, councillor Tony Jones, lead member for Adult Social Care, said: “Regular contact is being maintained with care homes across the town to ensure timely access to infection control advice, testing of residents and staff with symptoms, and PPE for staff is all readily available.

“This ensures that all possible steps are taken to minimise the risk of death when infection within our care homes occurs.”

On PPE , councillor Graeme Hoskin, lead member for Health, said: “National problems have been well documented but have been brought very close to home by the tragic death from Covid-19 of Dr Peter Tun, an associate specialist in neurorehabilitation at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

“In response to pleas from Dr Tun for PPE for his department he was informed “these supplies are not widely available and need to used sensibly for those staff most at risk”.

“I know we are all immensely grateful to front-line staff in Reading risking their health in order to care for us and ensure vital services continue.

“Examples like Dr Tun’s tragic death show why the work the council is doing to secure PPE is so vital.”

On vulnerable children, councillor Liz Terry, lead member for Children, said there has been a 60 per cent reduction in the number of concerns received by Brighter Futures for Children and a 50 per cent reduction in referrals made to the children’s care service.

Cllr White said the plummetting figures raise concerns about the welfare of vulnerable children during the coronavirus outbreak.

The lead member responded that local authorities have noted this decline and raised awareness via social media campaigns to encourage and empower the community to act on keeping children safe.

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In another part of the meeting, councillors discussed a framework for the future of Palmer Park and agreed to hold an extra meeting on the plans, after Green Party councillors raised concerns.