Category Archives: Local Government

Rhondda Cynon Taff, says maybe if you ask

Posted on by Aled Wyn
Reply

After submitting nineteen FOI requests to Welsh councils, I have heard back form one.  Rhondda Cynon Taff have recently amended their constitution (20.1)  to include the following rule on filming and taking photographs at their council meetings:

“Proceedings at meetings may not be photographed, videoed, sound recorded or transmitted in anyway outside the meeting without prior permission of the Mayor. Failure to comply with this rule may invoke Rule 19.4 (Members to leave meeting) and 20.1 (Removal of members of the public).”

So what would happen to you under rule 20.1? Well the following…

“If a member of the public interrupts proceedings, the Mayor will warn the person concerned. If they continue to interrupt, the Mayor will order their removal from the meeting room.”

It is unclear how holding a phone (or any recording equipment) up in the public gallery could “interrupt proceedings”.  It is also unclear on what criteria the mayor will allow or disallow filming at council meetings.  I have replied to the council to clarify this point, and I am currently awaiting a reply.

FOI on blogging, tweeting, and filming at council meetings

Posted on by Aled Wyn
Reply

Since the fiasco at Carmarthenshire council meeting last week, I have sent requests for information from 19 of Wales’ 22 local authorities concerning their policies on tweeting blogging and filming at their meetings. This has been done under the Freedom of information Act, and so they have 20 days to respond. The remaining 3 local authorities have been contacted by another person, so we should get a clear picture of the situation in Wales.

Get askin’ them questions!

Posted on by Aled Wyn
Reply

After hearing the terrible way Carmarthenshire County council treated a Jacqui Thompson and seeing that a FOI request was sent to the council in question about their policies on blogging, tweeting, and filming at council meetings, I thought it would be great to see how each of Wales’ 22 councils treat these issues.  So I have already put a request into my council, Powys.  I urge you to do so with your council.

What have they got to hide?

Posted on by Aled Wyn
Reply

caebrwyn arrested (c)Alex Murray Smith

I was shocked to see news of the arrest of a blogger in Carmarthen for the terrible crime of… filming a council meeting from the public gallery. Yes, it would seem that Carmarthenshire county council have something that it doesn’t want to be filmed. In today’s connected world this story was across twitter and on the Telegraph website.

It’s a sad situation to find that a supposedly democratic body stops its meeting in order to have a member of the public arrested for filming proceedings, what have they to hide? I welcome the work @caebrwyn is doing holding the council to account and bringing council proceedings to the public.

There is no wonder that councils across the country are dominated by cliques when they actively oppose transparency and openness.

It is a welcome sight to see more people tweeting blogging, and (attempting to) film council proceedings. Lets hope more people will be willing to draw attention to what councils do.

Jacqui Thompson (caebrwyn) has started a petition to the Welsh Assembly on the issue of filming local government proceedings and openness, I urge you to sign it HERE

UPDATE 13/6/11 : It was only a matter of time before a Freedom of Information request was made. Lets hope the response will give some clarity on the situation.

New Statesman article

Here is the video of what happened in the chamber.