Hambleton District Council to clarify public's rights to use social media in meetings

Officials at the authority are recommending to councillors that they agree to amend its Access to Information Rules to clarify the use of social media and filming in meetings open to the public.

The Audit, Governance and Standards Committee will vote on Wednesday (June 26).

Richmondshire District Council has already received a request from a resident to film council meetings.

Sarah Hartley, a former journalist, wishes to stream unedited footage live on to her blog, to make meetings accessible to more residents.

She said: "Although all council meetings are public, Richmondshire District Council is not unusual in having few members of the public to attend meetings.

"There can be many reasons for this - people unaware of when meetings are held, reluctance to set out on dark nights, child care issues and shift work.

"Using technology to provide what is effectively an on demand service, people can choose when and where they want to view - and will effectively increase the number of people attending the meeting."

The Government recently issued guidance on public rights to attend and record meetings and access public documents.

The guide, issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government, makes it clear that the Government believes filming and social media should be allowed in public meetings.

It says that elected representatives and council officers acting in the public sphere “should expect to be held to account for their comments and votes in such meetings” - and so filming councillors and officers at public meetings should be allowed.

“Similarly, under the new rules there can be social media reporting of meetings. Thus bloggers, tweeters, Facebook and YouTube users, and individuals with their own website, should be able to report on meetings," it adds.

The guide says the Data Protection Act does not prohibit recording public meetings, but this should not be disruptive or distracting to the meeting.