tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post3256454136767563918..comments2023-11-18T08:59:54.598+00:00Comments on Carmarthenshire Planning Problems and more: How open is your Council meeting?caebrwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-88933544165749700642012-10-01T15:56:08.956+01:002012-10-01T15:56:08.956+01:00@John
Initial estimate of cost including set up fo...@John<br />Initial estimate of cost including set up for Carmarthenshire was around £20,000.<br />I am hoping that when the group of councillors eventually produce their report it will detail costs and the practicalities/logistics.<br />They already have an audio system in place, they just don't use it.<br />There is also the issue of 'editing' - I'm sure Carmarthenshire are going to be able to shout 'cut!' if anything untoward happens ;)caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-36880984892439405522012-10-01T15:40:30.737+01:002012-10-01T15:40:30.737+01:00Yes, I've had a look at the link to the Powys ...Yes, I've had a look at the link to the Powys County Council webcast too. Public I TV have advantages over others filming meetings, but I've seen this same system also used for some Liverpool City Council meetings previously too.<br /><br />This does require however some kind of agreement with the Council involved as:-<br /><br />(a) they have a direct feed into the audio system which means their audio is a lot clearer,<br />(b) they're recording in high definition from multiple cameras,<br />(c) they have someone to determine who's speaking when (for the junction points) and upload the documents and<br />(d) a person doing video editing to determine which camera is used and when.<br /><br />To do the above doesn't come cheaply and the logistics would mean they'd need access to the room it was being held in prior to the meeting starting and either access to equipment already in the room and either a power source or batteries that last for a nearly seven hour meeting. <br /><br />Clearly it's a step up merely a minute or two recorded on a mobile phones and is heading towards broadcast quality and gives the Council considerable control over how it's presented and how long the footage is on the web for. John Bracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15068175156565343146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-58491440348956110422012-10-01T15:38:31.062+01:002012-10-01T15:38:31.062+01:00@Darryl;
Thanks for your comment and link - and w...@Darryl; <br />Thanks for your comment and link - and with regards to audio recording, yes, point taken.<br /><br />@John Brace;<br />According to their website, Powys Council have webcast three meetings this year, so must have all the necessary gear in place. Pity they don't broadcast more. And allow the public to film.<br />Will try and find out the costs though.<br /><br />caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-66672812309497885302012-10-01T15:19:43.304+01:002012-10-01T15:19:43.304+01:00Have you made an FOI request to Powys County Counc...Have you made an FOI request to Powys County Council for this information?John Bracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15068175156565343146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-20063023769879069722012-10-01T11:16:45.883+01:002012-10-01T11:16:45.883+01:00I've been using Audioboo to record bits of Gre...I've been using Audioboo to record bits of Greenwich Council meetings for a year - easier just to go ahead and do it rather than ask.<br /><br />The clique which runs Greenwich is petrified of public scrutiny - here's one cabinet member spouting nonsense earlier this year. <a href="http://853blog.com/2011/11/29/foot-tunnels-latest-those-hidden-structures-revealed-sort-of/" rel="nofollow">http://853blog.com/2011/11/29/foot-tunnels-latest-those-hidden-structures-revealed-sort-of/</a> b<br /><br />But by the same token, I suspect they're also too scared to take action against anyone who records meetings, because then they'd be forced to consider it rather than sticking their heads in the sand.<br /><br />darrylhttp://www.853blog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-72306858183363657522012-09-30T15:36:59.528+01:002012-09-30T15:36:59.528+01:00The other week Powys County Council broadcast the ...The other week Powys County Council broadcast the meeting which voted to oppose 3 very controversial wind farm applications. There was massive public interest in the issue, and somehow the council was able to decide (a) to film and (b) to make it happen in a very short space of time. They certainly did not need 18 months. It would be interesting to know what it cost them too.Cneifiwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767078276794410524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-42258750552171631742012-09-30T13:57:46.000+01:002012-09-30T13:57:46.000+01:00Thanks for your comment and the link John. Yes, un...Thanks for your comment and the link John. Yes, unfortunately things are different in Wales. At least in England bloggers etc now have the backing of some legislation which Councils will be aware of. Although how this will work in practice remains to be seen.<br />In Wales there is nothing and the Welsh Minister, Carl Sargeant (Eric Pickles equivalent but different politics)doesn't appear to be acting any time soon, he issued words of 'encouragement' some time ago to councils to allow members of the public to film but, in Carmarthenshire anyway, this has been completely ignored.caebrwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17233902574832152764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-791817892794754996.post-89542206206458429582012-09-30T10:41:11.203+01:002012-09-30T10:41:11.203+01:00Thank you for that interesting post, I can post fr...Thank you for that interesting post, I can post from experience of a local Council I report on, which although not in Wales, borders Wales (Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England). Sadly it's a slightly different set of laws, policies and rules in Wales.<br /><br />They too tried (a long time ago) a trial of webcasting Planning Committee meetings, which was then abandoned on cost grounds, but the policy was kept in place. <br /><br />When I tried to film the Planning Committee, with prior permission (and the agreed policy stating it could be filmed), it <a href="http://johnbrace.com/2011/11/15/planning-committee-part-1-cllr-elderton-interrupts-proceedings-planning-committee-discusses-freedom-of-speech/" rel="nofollow">led to this interesting exchange</a> between myself, the Chair of the meeting, the legal adviser and a Conservative councillor trying to stick up for me. Within two days there had been a U-turn on this and later a policy was agreed by full Council to allow filming at all public meetings. <br /><br />The situation has somewhat changed for bloggers though (at least in England I really don't know about Wales) as the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 as now bloggers, Twitterers etc are classed as journalists and the local authority is under a legal obligation to provide "reasonable facilities" for taking their report. <br /><br />Most of what happens at meetings though, doesn't attract much public attention (judging by the number of views), unless it's mentioned in the media before the meeting happens or is something controversial. <br /><br />Our full Council meetings are traditionally held in the evening, which means some people can't go, however the way most Councils are laid out means traditionally journalists have a table or area to themselves which is separate to the public gallery to comply with the reasonable facilities part of the legislation, my own view is that until a few test cases are sent for judicial review (or a fuss is kicked up locally by the unions) local councils will continue to act in a way that doesn't seem to comply with the Human Rights Act 1998. John Bracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15068175156565343146noreply@blogger.com