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Webcasting Protocol

1. Background

1.1 This protocol should be read in conjunction with Rule 25 of the Council Procedure Rules (Recordings of Meetings) and Part 5 of the Council’s Constitution.

1.2 As part of its open and transparent culture, the Council encourages residents to participate in local democracy by enabling members of the public the chance to view meetings as they happen without having to attend in person.

1.3 Webcasting and the retention of film on the Council’s YouTube channel does not replace the formal record of the meeting and the decisions made. By law the only formal record of any meeting of a Local Authority is its minutes and agendas which are required to be maintained and retained for several years.

1.4 The aim of this protocol is to help members of the public and press to understand the Council’s operating procedure for filming/webcasts of meetings of the Council that are filmed/broadcast.

2. Protocol

2.1 Webcasting

2.1.1 The council will live stream on the Council’s YouTube channel and website (‘webcasting’), and record for subsequent transmission, all of its meetings of Full Council, Cabinet, Planning Committee, Licensing and Enforcement Committee, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Audit and Governance Committee, General Purposes Committee and other meetings as determined by the Managing Director that are held within the Council Chamber. Fixed cameras are located within the Council Chamber which will be used for this purpose.

2.1.2 This Protocol has been prepared to assist the conduct of webcast meetings and to ensure that in doing so the Council is compliant with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Online Safety Act 2023 and any other relevant current or subsequent legislation. Material from webcast meetings must not be used to harass, (as defined by the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and subsequent enactments), humiliate or degrade Members, Officers, or any other meeting participants in any other form, including on social media platforms.

2.1.3 Accordingly, the following will apply to all meetings to be webcast by the council.

2.2 Main Provisions

2.2.1 The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend the webcast if continuing to webcast would prejudice the proceedings of the meeting. This may include, but is not restricted to:

  1. During the management of public disturbance.
  2. When the proceedings of the meeting are suspended for any reason;
  3. During consideration of exempt matters when the public and press had been excluded from the meeting.

2.2.2 No exempt or confidential agenda items shall be webcast.

2.2.3 Reasonable endeavours will be made to ensure that anything that is outside the scope of the meeting is not filmed, but this cannot be guaranteed. This may include but is not limited to reaction shots or walks out. In these cases, the officer managing the webcast will select a camera shot of the Chair of the meeting.

2.2.4 As part of the process for registering to speak at any meeting that will be live streamed, members of the public who indicate they wish to speak will be advised that the meeting will be live streamed and a recording of the meeting will be available on YouTube. They will further be advised that their image, voice and name will be broadcast and retained in the recording that is available on YouTube.

2.2.5 No close up images of the public gallery will be filmed, however, the Council is not able to guarantee that any member of the public, whether speaking or observing only, will not appear in the background when an elected Member is speaking. The officer managing the webcast will, on request, give guidance on the best place to sit to avoid being filmed, but if a member of the public does not wish to be visible at all, they are advised that they should not attend in person.

2.2.6 When speaking at broadcasted meetings, elected Members will be identified by name and where they hold a specified role by reference to that appointment.

2.2.7 When speaking at broadcasted meetings, Officers of the Council will be on camera. Officers below the level of Head of Service should be referred to by their job title instead of their name wherever possible. Heads of Service and Directors will be referred to both by name and job role.

2.2.8 Editing may be undertaken in light of the provisions of the Online Safety Act 2023 and other enactments protecting the safety and reputation of elected Members, Officers, and members of the public. Editing may also occur in other lawful circumstances at the discretion of the Monitoring Officer and Head of Paid Service. A full, unedited copy of the recording will be retained in accordance with data retention procedures and a record of the decision will be maintained by the Council and made publicly available in a log on the Council’s website.

2.2.9 Should a webcast be halted for a technical reason, the officer managing the webcast will, as soon as reasonably practicable inform the Managing Director and/or the Monitoring Officer. The relevant Members will subsequently be informed of the outcome of any recovery work undertaken.

2.2.10 Any elected Member or Officer who is concerned that, because of being webcast, they might be at risk of physical or psychological abuse, should raise their concerns, in advance of the meeting, with the Managing Director and/or the Monitoring Officer who shall consider what mitigating actions may be put in place.

3. Agenda front sheets and signage at meetings

3.1 On each agenda for meetings that will be webcast, and on signs inside and outside of the Council Chamber, there will be the following notice:

“This meeting will be recorded by the Council for live broadcast online at Gloucester City Council Meeting Broadcasts - YouTube. The Chair will confirm this at the start of the meeting. If you participate in the meeting, you consent to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for broadcasting and/or training purposes. If you have any questions on the issue of filming/recording of meetings, please contact Democratic and Electoral Services.”

4. Planning Committee Meetings

4.1 In any correspondence notifying supporters or objectors of the meeting date on which a proposal will be heard, the following advice will be included:

“The meeting at which application [ ] will be determined will be recorded by the council for live broadcast online at Gloucester City Council Meeting Broadcasts - YouTube. The Chair will confirm this at the start of the meeting. If you participate in the meeting, you consent to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for broadcasting and/or training purposes. If you have any questions on the issue of filming/recording of meetings, please contact Democratic Services.”

5. Conduct of meetings

5.1 At the start of each meeting to be filmed by the Council, the Chair will make the following announcement (or similar):

“This meeting is being live streamed on the Council’s YouTube Channel. The recording of the meeting will remain online for four (4) years and if you are present in the chamber you are consenting to appearing in the recording and broadcast which may also be used for training purposes.”

6. Cessation of webcasting for private sessions

6.1 No part of any meeting will be webcast after elected Members have resolved to exclude the press and public because there is likely to be the disclosure of exempt or confidential information. The officer managing the webcast will check that filming and/or recording of the meeting has ceased and will confirm this to the Chair of the meeting before any discussion of exempt or confidential matters is commenced.

7. Storage and retention of webcasts

7.1 Webcast meetings will be recorded and broadcast on the internet. All webcasts will then be available to view for a period of four years after which they will be deleted in accordance with data retention procedures.

7.2 A local recording of each meeting will be retained for the duration of the four year retention period, subject to available storage capacity. In the event that local recordings have to be deleted prior to the end of the retention period, the retention of full copies of edited recordings will be prioritised. Once local recordings are deleted, meetings shall only be viewable on the Council’s YouTube channel.

7.3 In addition to the provision regarding the editing of content detailed previously, archived webcasts shall only be removed from the website and/or YouTube channel if the Monitoring Officer considers that it is necessary because all or part of the content of the webcast is or is likely to be in breach of any statutory provision, for example, Data Protection and Human Rights legislation or provisions relating to confidential or exempt information.

7.4 A public log will be maintained of webcasts where content has been removed. The Managing Director and/or the Monitoring Officer will, in consultation with Group Leaders, make the final decision on removing any webcast or part of a webcast. The reason for any decision to edit a webcast or filmed material will be published in the log.

8. Copyright Notice

8.1 Webcasts remain copyright and property of the council at all times and must not be altered or edited in any way.

9. Further questions & contact details

9.1 If you have any questions on the issue of filming/recording of meetings please contact Democratic and Electoral Services on 01452 396203 or email democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk.

9.2 The contents of this protocol do not affect your rights under other legislation.