Agenda and minutes

1.         This meeting is to be webcast. Members are reminded of the need to activate their microphones before speaking.

2.         The Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the Internet and will be capable of repeated viewing and copies of the recording could be made available for those that request it.

If you are seated in the lower public seating area it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in the possibility that your image will become part of the broadcast.

This may infringe your human and data protection rights and if you wish to avoid this you should move to the upper public gallery”

The Chairman made a short address to remind all present that the meeting would be broadcast on the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings. The Committee noted the Council’s Protocol for Webcasting of Council and Other Meetings.

The Chairman welcomed Derek Macnab to his first Overview and Scrutiny meeting as the lead officer.

(Head of Research and Democratic Services). To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

There were no substitute Members for the meeting.

(Head of Research and Democratic Services). To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

Pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct no declarations of interest were made.

(Head of research and Democratic Services) To consider the attached report. Simon Hill of Research and Democratic Services will present the review of pilot webcasting period and will answer members questions on the project.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer took the Committee through a presentation based on his report on the webcasting pilot review. He started off with the history of the pilot, how it emerged from initial discussions in January 2006 through to the installation in the council chamber of the cameras and equipment in July 2006. The first full webcast meeting was full Council in September 2006, which led to an initial report going to the ICT Scrutiny Panel in November 2006. This led to an extension of the pilot that was agreed to last until 31 March 2008.

He then went through the technical aspects of the system including how the system works and who hosted the website. There were some problems experienced, one being members not turning on their microphones and one instance of software failure (fixed and all information fully recovered within two days of the failure).

Currently the webcast box tends to obscure the entrance to the chamber and if it were to be made permanent a more discreet position would have to be found. Also, the microphone system of the Chamber would need to be updated and renewed, as it is currently inadequate to the task.

He explained how outside webcasts were undertaken and the effort involved in moving the bulky equipment off site. A lighter, portable set of webcasting equipment was available if the council decided to go ahead with the project.

The meeting noted that over fifty webcasts had been undertaken over the last year, including non-meeting events. It was noted that the virtual live attendance was fairly constant, but that archive viewing has increased over time. The top five webcasts viewed were:

1.                  Celebration of Faith

2.                  Finance Committee

3.                  Cabinet in February 2007

4.                  PCT Consultation event

5.                  Area Planning Committee South

EFDC is now the most watched Local Government webcaster in England and had fourteen and a half thousand viewers in total over the last twelve month period. To keep on the cutting edge of this medium and to keep the public informed and interested a varied content should be included on the website. The use of webcasting could be extended to other services of the council so that they can produce their own informational features. Major Civic events could be webcast, and outside agencies could be granted access for their meeting if held on Council property. With the setting up of the Youth Council, webcasts could be used to increase public interest, especially among the younger, Internet savvy, generation.

If the Council wished to continue with the scheme then a further report on contract procurement would be required together with the setting of wider objectives for the project. The Cabinet would need to consider the chamber installation, the use of the Committee Rooms, how multimedia could be supported and the possibility of upgrading the microphone system. There was also a need for greater officer awareness of the potential of the system, by way of an officer awareness session. The use of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.