Just over a week ago a High Court Judge ruled that it was not lawful to include the saying of prayers as part of the formal meeting of a council.
We posed the question as to what impact this would have on the Isle of Wight council and readers left a whopping 148 comments on the subject.
Council leader, David Pugh told VB, “We will be reviewing our procedure, with a view to ensuring that prayers can continue to take place before the formal meeting commences.”
Pickles rushes through legislation
At the end of last week, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles rushed through a parliamentary order giving councils a “general power of competence” allowing those who want to pray the power to do so.
This morning, council leader, David Pugh, circulated a letter from Eric Pickles to all members (embedded below for your convenience) adding, “I have asked officers to revert to our longstanding practice of having prayers listed on the agenda sheet to take place at the scheduled start time of the meeting, before the formal business commences.”
