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Protocol for Webcasting of Council and Committee Meetings

1. Introduction

As part of its commitment to openness, transparency and public engagement, the Council seeks to enable residents to participate fully in local democracy. One way in which this is achieved is by providing opportunities for members of the public to observe Council and Committee meetings without having to be physically present.

The Council therefore live streams meetings of Council and its Committees, except where exempt or confidential business is being considered. Meetings may be broadcast live on the Council’s website and/or external platforms such as YouTube. Where meetings are webcast, recordings can be viewed as the meeting takes place and will remain available online subject to the Council’s retention policy.

Webcasting and the retention of film on the Council’s YouTube channel does not replace the formal record of the meeting and the decisions taken. By law the only formal record of any meeting of a Local Authority is its minutes and agendas which are required to be retained in accordance with the Council’s retention policy.

The purpose of this protocol is to explain the Council’s approach to filming, broadcasting and recording meetings, and to help members of the public, the press, elected Members and officers understand how webcasting operates and the safeguards that apply.

The primary aim of webcasting is to aid transparency, governance and accountability by giving members of the public, elected Members, officers and other interested parties the opportunity to view meetings without having to attend in person.

Accordingly, the principles set out in this protocol apply to all meetings that are webcast by the Council.

2. How do we webcast and how long will the recording be available?

The Council has fixed cameras located within the Council Chamber at Ebley Mill for this purpose. The link to the live stream will be published on the council’s website with the relevant meeting agenda and papers. The webcast of meetings will be available on the Council’s website and the Council’s YouTube channel for a period of 2 years and, after that, copies of recordings may be available upon request.

3. Notification of Webcasting

Agenda Packs

For meetings that are intended to be webcast, the following notice will be included on the agenda:

This meeting will be filmed for live and/or subsequent broadcast on the council’s YouTube Channel and a recording published on the council’s website except where there are confidential or exempt items, which may need to be considered in the absence of press and public. By entering the Council Chamber and using the public seating areas you consent to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for broadcasting and/or training purposes. If this presents any difficulty, please inform Democratic Services in advance of the meeting. Democratic.services@stroud.gov.uk

Public Speakers

Where members of the public are invited to speak at a meeting, correspondence confirming permission to speak will include the following advice:

Please note that this meeting will be filmed for live and/or subsequent broadcast and the footage will be on the Councils website and YouTube Channel. Please contact Democratic Services ahead of the meeting if you have any concerns.Democratic.services@stroud.gov.uk

At the Meeting

At the start of each meeting to be filmed, an announcement will be made that the meeting is being filmed and broadcast.

The following signage will be displayed inside the meeting room:

Please note that Stroud District Council will broadcast this meeting live on its website and YouTube Channel and the record will be archived for future viewing. By entering the chamber, you are consenting to be filmed and to the possible use of those images and any sound recordings as your image may be included in the broadcast.

Reasonable endeavours will be made to ensure that anything that is outside the scope of the meeting is not filmed, but this cannot be guaranteed.

No close up images of the public gallery will be filmed, however, the Council is not able to guarantee that any member of the public, whether speaking or observing only, will not appear in the background when an elected Member is speaking. If a member of the public does not wish to be visible at all, they are advised that they should not attend in person or make this known in writing prior to the meeting by emailingdemocratic.services@stroud.gov.uk and we will contact you to discuss further.

4. Conduct of Meetings

The Chair of the meeting shall have the discretion to terminate or suspend the webcast if:

· The meeting is suspended or adjourned;

· A resolution is lawfully passed to exclude the press and public from the meeting;

· There is a disturbance;

· Continuation of the webcast may lead to potential infringement of the rights of any person or other breach of law, subject to legal advice;

· The Chair considers that continuing the webcast would prejudice the proceedings of the meeting, subject to agreement by the majority of Members attending the meeting.

· If a technical fault develops, the Chair may continue the meeting without webcasting or agree a short adjournment to see if the problem can be resolved. If after adjourning the problem still persists, the meeting should continue irrespective of it not being transmitted live;

· In the event of an emergency / evacuation of the Council Chamber.

The Chair may ask any person whose behaviour threatens the orderly conduct of the meeting to leave. Where this occurs, the meeting and the webcast may be paused until the individual has exited.

5. Record of Meetings

Access and Retention

All recorded webcasts will be available to view on the Council’s website for a period of 2 years and thereafter will be stored in accordance with the Council’s retention policy.

Editing of recordings

The content of livestreamed meetings will not be edited by the Council unless:

  1. There is a legal reason to do so, for instance, confidential personal information is inadvertently disclosed or defamatory comments are made.
  2. There are exceptional circumstances, such as an attendee being taken ill on screen.
  3. Other limited circumstances where the Monitoring Officer considers that minor editing is appropriate.

No editing will take place unless the Monitoring Officer has first given their consent.

Removal of Recordings

Webcast recordings, or parts of thereof, shall be removed from the Council’s website if the Monitoring Officer considers that it is necessary because all or part of the content of the webcast is or is likely to be in breach of any statutory provision or common law doctrine, for example Data Protection and Human Rights legislation or provisions relating to confidential or exempt information. If the Monitoring Officer has decided to take such action, they must notify all Elected Members in writing as soon as possible of the decision and the reasons for such a decision.

The grounds for not publishing would always have to outweigh the public interest in publication. In considering the public interest, the Monitoring Officer will have to exercise judgement, for example where abusive language is used by Members as part of the ‘cut and thrust’ of political debate. In these circumstances, the Monitoring Officer will take into account any representations made by Members and whether a Member had an opportunity to respond to or refute the comments or allegations at the meeting. Where comments are made by Members about the conduct and capability of officers it would also generally be inappropriate to publish those parts of an archived webcast of a meeting.

Webcast recordings may be removed temporarily by Democratic Services where this is necessary to allow the Monitoring Officer to consider the content, to investigate a concern that has been raised, or to apply agreed editing in accordance with this Protocol. Any such temporary removal will be for the minimum period necessary.

Copyright and reuse

The actual webcasts and archived material, and copyright therein, remain the property of the Council, and the right to copy, issue, rent, perform, communicate or adapt any of the webcast or archived material is restricted as follows:

  1. Subject to (b) and (c) below, any person may copy and use webcast material or part thereof provided that the facility is not used in a way that otherwise breaks the law.
  2. The use of any webcast involving the alteration or editing of the material which results in changing the message or context is not permitted without the prior written approval of the Monitoring Officer.
  3. The use of webcast for commercial purposes involving re-use of the material is not permitted, unless the prior written approval of the Monitoring Officer is obtained.

6. Exceptions to the Webcast

The Council wants to make sure meetings are webcast as far as possible to ensure full engagement with the public. However there are instances where it may not be appropriate to webcast a meeting or parts thereof, for example:

  1. When Members at a meeting pass a resolution to exclude the press and public because there is likely to be disclosure of exempt or confidential information. The Council will always try to conduct its business in public, however from time to time the press and public may be excluded from meetings in accordance with the rules set out in legislation and the Council’s Constitution. The Democratic Services Officer for the meeting will ensure that webcasting of the meeting has ceased and will confirm this to the Chair of the meeting before any discussion of exempt or confidential matters is commenced.
  2. When an individual, who is presenting at a public meeting, specifically requests not to appear on the public livestream, and we agree with the request. We will always seek to accommodate such requests and work with that individual to agree an approach that is satisfactory to all parties. Any such part of a meeting that has not been broadcast will not appear online or be available following the meeting. If you object to appearing in the webcast, you should make this known in writing prior to the meeting by emailing democratic.services@stroud.gov.uk and we will contact you to discuss further.
  3. In considering whether or not to record contributions by children at meetings the Council will, for those aged 16 or over check with the young people themselves that they are content to be filmed and subject to that, record and broadcast them. For children younger than 16, or those who are otherwise thought vulnerable, we will record only with the consent of the appropriate parent or guardian. If we are in any doubt we will stop the livestreaming whilst children are speaking. If you or someone you are attending with is under the age of 18 and are planning to attend a meeting that is webcast, you should make this known in writing prior to the meeting by emailing democratic.services@stroud.gov.uk and we will contact you to discuss further.

7. Prohibition on Political Publicity

Please note that the Council is prohibited from producing political publicity. This is defined as any material which in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect political support for a political party. This duty is more acute during pre-election periods, which run from publication of the notice of election to the election. While politics can be a normal part of Council meetings, proceedings which are inherently political may have to be removed from any broadcast to avoid breaching the rules on political publicity. During pre election periods a short publication delay may be used to manage this risk.

8. Amendment of this Protocol

The Monitoring Officer shall be authorised to make minor amendments to this Protocol to ensure it is kept up to date and fit for purpose.

Recording of Meetings by the Public

The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 gives the public the right to film, record audio, take photographs, and use social media and the internet at any Council meeting that is open to the public, subject to it not being disruptive.

In order to ensure the effective conduct and management of Council meetings, the following guidelines and requirements apply:

  1. Anyone planning to record meetings of the Council and its public meetings through any audio, visual or written methods they find appropriate must not disturb the conduct of the meeting;
  2. Anyone can attend a public meeting to report on proceedings, either in ‘real time’ or after the conclusion of the meeting, on a blog, social networking site, news forum or other online media;
  3. A laptop, tablet device, smartphone or portable camera can be used to record a written or audio transcript of proceedings during the meeting;
  4. Facilities within the Council Chamber are limited, so recording equipment must be of a reasonable size and nature to be easily accommodated.
  5. Anyone intending to bring large or complex recording equipment must contact democratic.services@stroud.gov.uk to see whether this can be accommodated. 
  6. Proceedings must not be interrupted so digital equipment must be set to ‘silent’ mode.
  7. Recording equipment should be focused on Members, Officers and the public who are directly involved in the conduct of the meeting. The Chair of the meeting will ask any members of the public present if they have objections to being visually recorded. Those visually recording a meeting are asked to respect the wishes of those who do not wish to be filmed or photographed. Failure to respect the wishes of those who do not want to be filmed and photographed may result in the Chair instructing that reporting or recording cease and a failure to comply with that instruction may lead to the person responsible being excluded from the meeting. 
  8. Recorded images must not be edited in a way in which there is a clear aim to distort the truth or misrepresent those taking part in the proceedings.
  9. Please do not film, photograph or report the views of children, young people, vulnerable people and other members of the public who actively object to being filmed or photographed.
  10. Beware that the common law applies, for example laws on public order offences and defamation.
  11. Please exercise your right to freedom of speech with responsibility, this means respecting the views of others when reporting from a meeting and show respect for those that you film or report on.

The Council regards violation of any of the points above as a risk to the orderly conduct of a meeting. The Council therefore reserves the right to exclude any person who disregards the protocol on recording meetings from the meeting in question and refuse entry to any further council or committee meetings.

Full details of the right of the public to film, record and use social media to report from a meeting, including the exemptions mentioned above, can be found in thegovernment guidance issued to accompany these regulations.

10. Further questions & contact details

If you have any questions on the issue of filming/recording of meetings please contact Democratic and Electoral Services on 01453 766321 or emaildemocratic.services@stroud.gov.uk