WESTBURY Town Council is now inviting councillors and members of the public to attend prayers before council meetings, rather than including prayers as part of the meeting itself.
Prayers have traditionally been included on the agenda for council meetings, but the issue hit the headlines last year after an atheist councillor in the north Devon town of Bideford complained about the practice.
Guidance issued by the Society of Local Council Clerks suggests that, for councils such as Westbury, councils should separate prayers from the formal part of the meeting, and should be held at the invitation of the chair, not the council itself.
Westbury Town Council is now hosting prayers around five minutes before the start of its meetings. Prayers are not included on the agenda, but a separate invitation to attend prayers is issued to councillors and members of the public. The invitation comes from the mayor, not the town council.
