Local optical committees (LOCs), and their equivalent bodies in the rest of the UK (see Fully covered, below), have long played a major role in representing the interests and views of optical professionals on the ground. As the world is finding ways to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and adjust to the ‘new normal’, they have perhaps never held more relevance, or importance, as they do now.

The current coronavirus crisis has served to underline the significant benefits of optometrists enjoying a deeper involvement with their LOC. But what function exactly do these organisations perform, and what is their remit?