Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services (copy enclosed) on the proposals made by the Welsh Government in respect of webcasting and remote attendance.

A report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, outlining proposals made by the Welsh Government regarding the webcasting of Council meetings and the ability of Members to attend meetings remotely, had been circulated previously.

 

Welsh Government (WG) had made £1.2m available to Local Authorities (LA) to assist them in implementing the webcasting of Council meetings and the remote attendance at meetings by Members.  Each LA would be entitled to a grant of £20k for webcasting and £20k for remote attendance and details of the webcasting process had been outlined in the report.  The WG grant would be only available for one year with no guarantee of future funding.  In addition to software licensing fees there may be additional resources required to operate the system in supporting the population of the timeline of archived material.

 

The WG and WLGA had facilitated meetings with Democratic Services Officers to discuss the issue of webcasting and a demonstration of one of the systems had been delivered.  It was explained that it would be possible to webcast in such a way that translation services were available.  There were no statutory obligations on Council’s to webcast meetings but the service had become more common practice among LA’s and webcasting would make meetings more accessible to the public.  The HLDS outlined the advantages and disadvantages associated with webcasting Council meetings and he responded to questions from Members of the Committee.

 

The report provided details of how the decision would contribute to the Council’s Corporate Priorities, cost implications, the consultation process and any risks and processes introduced to address them.  The HLDAS responded to a question from Mr P. Whitham and confirmed that the technology had been established to introduce webcasting.  However, there would be potential risks to the Authority in the event of any technical anomalies which could bring into question the public’s perception of the Council.  The HLDS explained that the equipment already installed by Denbighshire could reduce the initial implementations costs of the system, however the equipment had only been installed in the Council Chamber.  The Committee agreed with the view expressed by the HLDS that a demonstration of the webcasting system be presented to Council Briefing.  

 

The HLDS summarised the provisions of Section 4, Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, which provides that reference in any statute to a meeting of the LA was not limited to a meeting of persons all of whom were present in the same place.  A Member of an LA not present in the place where a meeting of that Authority was held and was considered to be a ‘Member in remote attendance’ if a number of conditions were satisfied and these included:- 

 

(a)          the Member in remote attendance was able at that time:

 

(i)            to see and hear, and be seen and heard by the Members in actual attendance;

(ii)    to see and hear, and be seen and heard by, any Members of the public entitled to attend the meeting who were present in that place and who exercise a right to speak at the meeting, and

(iii)   to be seen and heard by any other Members of the public who were entitled to attend and are present at the meeting.

 

(b)          the Member in remote attendance was able at that time to hear, and be heard by, any other Member in remote attendance in respect of whom the conditions of paragraph (a) were satisfied at that time, and

 

(c)           use of facilities enabling the conditions in paragraphs (a) and (b) to be satisfied in respect of the member in remote attendance was not prohibited by the standing orders or any other rules of the authority governing the meeting.

 

It was explained that there would be no quorum for a meeting at any time when the number of Members in remote attendance was equal to, or greater than, the number of Members in actual attendance.  Section 4 of the Measure had not yet been introduced but there were indications it would be later in the year.  There were difficulties associated with the introduction of remote attendance and it was not clear that a system enabling a large number of remote attendees would be feasible.

 

Governance issues to be considered related to:-

 

-           the confidentiality of Part II proceedings;

-           the potential for challenge to decisions if the technology fails and members wishing to attend remotely are unable to attend and vote;

-           the potential for inquorate meetings due to the balance between members attending remotely and those physically present at the meeting.

 

The Committee were informed that the Council’s standing orders and procedures would need to be amended to make provision for the issues highlighted.

 

The following issues were raised by Members and responses provided by officers:-

 

-               The possibility of Members attending for one agenda item only.

-               Members attending in remote attendance would be classified as having attended the meeting in respect of Member attendance records.

-               The Democratic Services Manager highlighted the possible technical problems which could be encountered and explained that there had been concerns expressed regarding the availability of technology to meet legislative requirements.

 

The Chair referred to the possible use of video conferencing with facilities provided at one specified location, which could overcome any technical problems and risks which might be encountered as staff would be in attendance to address any technical issues which may arise.  The HLDS explained that the provision of video conferencing facilities could meet the legislative requirements, and following a detailed discussion the Committee agreed that a report on the use of video conferencing be presented to Council Brief for consideration by Members.

 

RESOLVED – that the Corporate Governance Committee:-

 

(a)          agrees that a demonstration of the webcasting system be presented to Council Briefing, and

(b)          a report on the use of video conferencing be presented to Council Briefing.