78A. (1) This section (including any regulations made under section 182(1)(la)) shall apply to the general meetings of a credit union during the interim period only and shall so apply notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or of the rules of the credit union.

(2) The annual general meeting of a credit union for the financial year ended September 2020 may be held at any time during the interim period.

(3) A credit union need not hold a general meeting at a physical venue but may conduct the meeting wholly or partly by the use of electronic communications technology as long as all attendees have a reasonable opportunity to participate in the meeting in accordance with this section.

(4) (a) A credit union may provide for participation in a general meeting by providing or facilitating, for that purpose, the use of electronic communications technology, including a mechanism for casting votes by a member, whether before or during the meeting.

(b) The mechanism referred to in paragraph (a) shall not require the member to be physically present at the general meeting or require the member to appoint a proxy who is to be physically present at the meeting.

(5) The use of electronic communications technology pursuant to subsection (4) may be made subject only to such requirements or restrictions put in place by the credit union as are necessary to ensure the identification of attendees and the security of the electronic communications technology, to the extent that such requirements or restrictions are proportionate to the achievement of those objectives.

(6) A credit union shall inform attendees, before the general meeting concerned, of any requirements or restrictions which it has put in place pursuant to subsection (5).

(7) A credit union that provides for the use of electronic communications technology for participation in a general meeting by an attendee shall endeavour to ensure, as far as practicable, that—

(a) such technology—

(i) provides for the security of any electronic communications by the attendee,

(ii) minimises the risk of data corruption and unauthorised access, and

(iii) provides certainty as to the source of the electronic communications,

(b) in the case of any failure or disruption of such technology, that failure or disruption is remedied as soon as practicable, and

(c) such technology enables the attendee to—

(i) hear what is said by the chair of the meeting and any person introduced by the chair, and

(ii) speak and submit questions and comments during the meeting to the chair to the extent that the attendee is entitled to do so under the rules of the credit union.

(8) Any temporary failure or disruption of electronic communications technology shall not invalidate the general meeting or any proceedings relating to the meeting.

(9) Unless such failure or disruption is attributable to any wilful act of the credit union, a credit union shall not be liable in respect of any failure or disruption relating to the equipment used by an attendee to access a general meeting by electronic communications technology that occurs and which failure or disruption prevents or interferes with the attendee’s participation, by the use of such technology, in the meeting.

(10) Where, in the opinion of the board of directors, it is deemed necessary—

(a) in order to comply with the public health guidance of the Government or regulations made under sections 5 and 31A of the Health Act 1947 in respect of the movement or gathering of persons for the purposes of preventing, limiting, minimising or slowing the spread of Covid-19, the board of directors may, by resolution, at any time up to the end of the day prior to the day on which a general meeting is to be held and in accordance with section 80A—

(i) cancel the meeting,

(ii) change the venue of the meeting, or

(iii) change the means of holding the meeting (including providing for facilitating attendees to participate in such meeting by the use of electronic communications technology),

or

(b) due to exceptional and unexpected circumstances, the board of directors may, by resolution, cancel a general meeting at any time prior to the holding of the meeting.

(11) In this section and sections 78B, 80, 80A and 82—

"attendee", in relation to a general meeting of a credit union, means—

(a) a member of the credit union,

(b) a proxy of a member of the credit union appointed under section 82A,

(c) a representative authorised by a member of the credit union in accordance with section 82(4),

(d) the auditor of the credit union,

(e) the Bank by virtue of section 82(1), or (f) any other person entitled to attend the meeting by virtue of the provisions of this Act or the rules of the credit union;

"electronic communications technology", in relation to a general meeting of a credit union, means technology that enables real time transmission and real time two-way audio-visual or audio communication enabling attendees as a whole with a reasonable opportunity to participate in the meeting using such technology from a remote location;

"electronic platform", in relation to a general meeting of a credit union, means an electronic system for the delivery of audio-visual or audio communication, including websites, access software and access telephone details or any other electronic technology that delivers such communication;

"general meeting", in relation to a credit union, includes a meeting that has been rescheduled.]