Guidance

COVID-19: Guidance for the safe use of council buildings

Updated 29 April 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on

This guidance is withdrawn as it’s no longer current. While cases are high and rising, everybody needs to continue to act carefully and remain cautious. This is why we are keeping in place key protections on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. You should also follow the measures in the working safely guidance.

Applies to England

A new COVID-19 variant is spreading in some parts of England. There may be additional advice for your area. Find out what you need to do.

Please note: This guidance is of a general nature and should be treated as a guide. In the event of any conflict between any applicable legislation (including the health and safety legislation) and this guidance, the applicable legislation shall prevail.

1. Introduction

On 4 January the Prime Minister announced a National Lockdown for all of England. There is different advice for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This information is for those managing council buildings. It signposts to relevant guidance on a range of different activities that can take place in these spaces, in line with measures to tackle COVID-19.

Each council will need to apply relevant guidance locally depending on circumstances, including its size and type of activities, how it is organised, operated, managed and regulated. This guidance applies to all users of council buildings including visitors and councillors.

Many council buildings are also workplaces and should therefore be aware of their responsibilities as employers. To help contain the virus, everyone who can work effectively from home must do so. Where people cannot do so (for instance people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction or manufacturing) they should continue to travel to work/attend their workplace. This is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting vital sectors and employers.

To help decide which actions to take, a COVID-19 risk assessment should be completed by each operator of a council building, civic building, town hall or organiser of a civic event. This will be in addition to any risk assessment which is already in place. See guidance on completing a risk assessment.

Public sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work. The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-secure guidelines are followed closely. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.

2. Core principles for safely reopening council buildings

Council buildings are used for a range of purposes, and relevant guidance on specific activities is signposted below (section 3).

Ultimately, those using these spaces are responsible for ensuring their activity is conducted safely and within relevant guidelines. However, there are general principles that managers of council buildings should consider.

Any opening plans must be consistent with:

To help decide which actions to take prior to opening the building for permitted activity, a COVID-19 risk assessment should be completed. This will be in addition to any risk assessment which is already in place for the community facility. See guidance on completing a risk assessment.

In addition, 2 metres, or 1 metre with risk mitigation (where 2 metres is not viable), are acceptable for distances for people to be from each other. You should consider and set out the mitigations you will introduce in your risk assessment.

Face coverings

You must wear a face covering by law in some public places unless you have a face covering exemption because of your age, health or another condition.

You are also strongly encouraged to wear a face covering in other enclosed public spaces where social distancing may be difficult and where you come into contact with people you do not normally meet.

From 23 September, there will be additional venues and areas where it will be mandatory to wear a face covering, unless you have an exemption. Please see the latest guidance on face coverings.

From 24 September, staff in retail and hospitality settings will be required to wear a face covering and all businesses must remind customers to wear a face covering where mandated, e.g by displaying posters.

Further information on social contact rules, social distancing and the exemptions that exist.

Test and Trace

An overview of NHS Test and Trace, including what happens if you test positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or have had close contact with someone who has tested positive, can be found in the NHS Test and Trace guidance. We will be mandating that organisations in designated sectors must:

  • ask at least one member of every party of customers or visitors to provide their name and contact details

  • keep a record of all staff working on their premises and shift times on a given day and their contact details

  • keep these records of customers, visitors and staff for 21 days and provide data to NHS Test and Trace if requested

  • display an official NHS QR code poster from 24 September 2020, so that customers and visitors can ‘check in’ using this option as an alternative to providing their contact details

  • adhere to General Data Protection Regulations

Any designated venue that is found not to be compliant with these regulations will be subject to financial penalties. It is vital that relevant venues comply with these regulations to help keep people safe, and to keep businesses open.

Designated venues will need to keep records of customers, visitors and staff for a period of 21 days and make them available when requested by NHS Test and Trace or local public health officials to help contain clusters or outbreaks.

You can find out more about these requirements: Maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace

Enforcement

Where the enforcing authority, such as the HSE or the local authority, identifies employers and building managers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks, they are empowered to take a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. For example, this would cover employers not taking appropriate action to ensure social distancing, where possible.

Under health and safety legislation, failure to complete a COVID-19 risk assessment would constitute a breach, as would having a risk assessment with insufficient measures. The actions the enforcing authority can take include the provision of specific advice to employers and building managers to support them to achieve the required standard, through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements. Serious breaches and failure to comply with enforcement notices can constitute a criminal offence, with large fines and even imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Employers are expected to respond to any advice or notices issued by enforcing authorities rapidly and are required to do so within any timescales imposed by the enforcing authority. The vast majority of employers are responsible and will join with the UK’s fight against COVID-19 by working with the government and their sector bodies to protect their workers and the public. However, inspectors are carrying out compliance checks nationwide to ensure that employers are taking the necessary steps.

Waste disposal in non-healthcare settings

The key points of the waste disposal guidance are:

  • People should dispose of face coverings and PPE in a ‘black bag’ waste bin or litter bin. People should not put face coverings or PPE in a recycling bin or drop them as litter.
  • People who are self-isolating, and members of their household, should double bag face coverings and items of PPE to be disposed of, and store them for 72 hours before putting them in a ‘black bag’ waste bin.
  • Businesses should provide extra bins for staff and customers to throw away face coverings and PPE, and should ensure that staff and customers do not use a recycling bin.

Please see the guidance for further details.

3. Council buildings: signposting to relevant guidance and meeting safety

Those managing council buildings, and those planning civic events, should take account of the relevant guidance below. This guidance signposts to the guidance available to support operators to safely manage council buildings during the pandemic.

3a: Office space

To help contain the virus, everyone who can work effectively from home must do so. Where people cannot do so (for instance people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction or manufacturing) they should continue to travel to work/attend their workplace. This is essential to keeping the country operating and supporting vital sectors and employers. Public sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work . The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-secure guidelines are followed closely. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.

Guidance has been published on how to work safely.

3b: Reception

Information on how to manage your customers, visitors and contractors to your place of work can be found in the guidance on working safely in office and contact centres.

3c: Meetings

The principles set out in the ‘Safer workplaces’ guidance apply but are not limited to:

  • meetings of civic, political or community groups (e.g. parish council meeting, ward meeting of political party; charity board of trustees)
  • MP or councillor surgery/drop-in sessions
  • public meetings and local consultations (e.g. planning)

Under regulations made under section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 local authorities in England have been able to hold public meetings virtually by using video or telephone conferencing technology, but these regulations do not apply to meetings on or after May 7.

As of April 28, the High Court has ruled that existing legislation does not permit virtual meetings. While the judgment concerns the interpretation of the Local Government Act 1972, and therefore local authorities should consider the court’s ruling for themselves, all councils will need to return to face-to-face meetings after May 6 and should continue to prepare accordingly.

This guidance is designed to assist local authorities who hold face-to-face meetings once the regulations come to an end.

This includes all relevant authorities listed below:

  • a county council
  • a district council
  • a London borough council
  • the Common Council of the City of London
  • the Greater London Authority
  • the Council of the Isles of Scilly
  • a parish council
  • a joint board continued in being by virtue of section 263(1) of the 1972 Act
  • a port health authority constituted under section 2 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984
  • an authority established under section 10 of the Local Government Act 1985
  • a joint authority established under Part 4 of the Local Government Act 1985
  • a joint committee constituted to be a local planning authority under section 29 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
  • a combined authority established under section 103 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009
  • a fire and rescue authority constituted by a scheme under section 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 or a scheme to which section 4 of that Act applies, or created by an order under section 4A of that Act
  • a National Park authority established under section 63 of the Environment Act 1995
  • the Broads Authority established by section 1 of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988
  • a conservation board established under section 86 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
  • a Mayoral development corporation established under section 198 of the Localism Act 2011
  • an urban development corporation established under section 135 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980
  • a parish meeting constituted under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1972
  • Transport for London
  • Police and crime panels

Where local authority meetings take place in person the principles set out in the government’s working safely guidance should be followed.

Ultimately it is for local authorities to carry out their own risk assessments and follow the working safely guidance to ensure physical meetings take place safely, but the government will work with sector representative bodies to ensure that local authorities understand the guidance and are aware of the full range of options available to them.

If deemed necessary, these options could include:

  • Use of your existing powers to delegate decision making to key individuals such as the Head of Paid Service to minimise the number of meetings you need to hold.

  • Relying on single-member decision making where your constitution allows.

When considering whether either of these options may be necessary, you should always consider the democratic implications of your decision to ensure that local residents are appropriately represented and that all local authority decisions have appropriate scrutiny. Additionally, you should note that certain decisions cannot be delegated and require a decision by full council or a statutory committee; for example, confirming the appointment of a Chief Executive and certain licensing decisions.

Holding your annual meeting before 7 May

Although a greater number of local authorities will be subject to elections in 2021 due to the postponement of the 2020 elections, those authorities who are not subject to elections could hold a virtual annual meeting before 7 May so that the meeting is held while the current regulations still apply.

Holding your annual meeting after 17 May

Local authorities who are subject to elections are legally required to hold their annual meeting within 21 days of the election, which this year will take place on 6 May. If holding a physical annual meeting, local authorities should consider holding it (and any other physical meetings) after 17 May, at which point it is anticipated that a much greater range of indoor activity can resume in line with the Roadmap set out by the government on 22 February.

This includes activities which are likely to have comparable health risks to local authority meetings, for example allowing up to 1,000 people to attend performances or sporting events in indoor venues, or up to half-capacity (whichever is lower). It is important to note that this date is subject to each of the Four Tests being met.

Continuing to provide remote access to the public

Local authorities have legal obligations to ensure that members of the public have access to most of their meetings. For physical meetings, the government would actively encourage local authorities to continue to provide remote access until at least 19 July, at which point it is anticipated that all restrictions on indoor gatherings will have been lifted in line with the Roadmap. However, it is for individual local authorities to satisfy themselves that they have met the requirements for public access.

Working safely

As a local authority, you have a legal responsibility to protect officers, elected members and others from risk to their health and safety, including from the risks of COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a hazard in the workplace and, as such, should be managed in the same way as other workplace hazards. This includes completing a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace and identifying control measures to manage that risk.

Where elected members, officers and others attend physical meetings, you must maintain social distancing wherever possible.

Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular meeting, local authorities should consider whether that meeting can be redesigned to maintain a 2m distance or 1m with risk mitigations where 2m is not viable.

Mitigating actions include:

  • further increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning
  • keeping the meeting time as short as possible
  • using screens or barriers to separate people from each other
  • using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible

Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, even through redesigning a particular meeting, local authorities should consider whether that meeting needs to continue for the local authority to operate, and if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between members and others.

Social distancing applies to all parts of a local authority building, not just the place where elected members are meeting, but also entrances and exits, break rooms, canteens and similar settings. These are often the most challenging areas to maintain social distancing and elected members and officers should be specifically reminded.

Local authorities that require additional space for essential meetings can hire function and event space at permitted venues. Local authorities should not hire function or event space for non-essential purposes. Read further information on hiring function and event space.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Meetings where local authorities deem that in-person attendance is not required should continue to be held virtually. For example, this would include non-statutory or other informal meetings.
  2. Only absolutely necessary participants should physically attend meetings and should maintain social distancing (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable).
  3. Avoiding transmission during meetings, for example avoiding sharing pens, documents and other objects.
  4. Providing hand sanitiser in meeting rooms.
  5. Holding meetings in well-ventilated rooms whenever possible.
  6. For areas where regular meetings take place, using floor signage to help people maintain social distancing.

3d: Common areas

Council buildings and town halls often rely on shared facilities for workers and occupants to access, including canteens and lifts. Guidance on moving around buildings and common areas can be found in below.

3e: Toilets

Public toilets, portable toilets and toilets inside premises should be kept open and carefully managed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  • Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency and to avoid touching your face, and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.
  • Consider the use of social distancing marking in areas where queues normally form, and the adoption of a limited entry approach, with one in, one out (whilst avoiding the creation of additional bottlenecks).
  • To enable good hand hygiene consider making hand sanitiser available on entry to toilets where safe and practical, and ensure suitable handwashing facilities including running water and liquid soap and suitable options for drying (either paper towels or hand driers) are available.
  • Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets, with increased frequency of cleaning in line with usage. Use normal cleaning products, paying attention to frequently hand touched surfaces, and consider use of disposable cloths or paper roll to clean all hard surfaces.
  • Keep the facilities well ventilated, for example by fixing doors open where appropriate.
  • Special care should be taken for cleaning of portable toilets and larger toilet blocks.
  • Putting up a visible cleaning schedule can keep it up to date and visible.
  • Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.

3f: Main hall/council chamber

For events and activities taking place inside council rooms or facilities please see the guidance for community facilities.

3g: Travel

Before opening council buildings, operators should think about how manage pedestrian space, pedestrian movement, queues and traffic.

Car parks are permitted to be open where needed and councils should consider practical measures such as changing the car park layout to help people socially distance. Decisions to reopen car parks are to be made locally.

Guidance on social distancing relevant to transport, parking and the public realm can be found below. Face coverings are now mandatory on public transport.

Please be mindful that the wearing of a face covering may inhibit communication with people who rely on lip reading, facial expressions and clear sound.

3h: Other uses

Community facilities

Community facilities such as community centres and village halls are used for a wide range of local activities and services – from childcare provision to hosting social and recreational clubs.

Places of worship