Friday
26
April
Council orders village group to remove a video
15/08/2020 @ 10:15
Abermule Community Council has told a campaign group to take down a video recording of one of its meetings from Facebook.
Abermule Communities Together was told by Abermule and Llandyssil Community Council clerk Gwilym Rippon that the clip which was recorded at a public meeting by remote attendance on 5 August 5 should be removed.
The group was warned that it could contravene legislation that governs reporting of Town and Community Council meetings in Wales.
The community council's standing orders say that written permission is needed for reporting of this kind.
Members of ACT, which has campaigned against the bulk recycling facility and business park being built on the edge of the village, say they didn’t do anything wrong.
The recording of just under seven minutes showed ACT member Jeff Mathews and community council chairman Cllr Jane Rees discussing a more joined up approach to scrutinising the site which could see businesses brought there.
The community council is against this.
A spokesman for ACT said: “Representing hundreds of Abermule residents, we often attend community council meetings to ask questions and follow matters of concern to our community, and report back to them.
“We recorded a small part of a meeting to enable the community to view an important question we had raised and the responses.”
The group maintains it has done nothing wrong, and said that at higher levels of local government, recording, and the use of social media to report live from meetings is protected and even encouraged.
Members believe legislation on local government meting going back to 1960 outweighs the council’s standing orders.
Coucil clerk Mr Rippon, said: “The legislation is different in England and Wales with respect of the recording of meetings.
“I made that decision to request its removal together with the Chair (Cllr Jane Rees) Vice Chair (Cllr Paul Davies) and County Councillor (Cllr Gareth Pugh).
“All councillors were copied into the email requesting its removal.”
The legislation in Wales does differ to England at town and community council level.
The law is based on Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 updated in the The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014.
In England people attending meetings can film, take photographs or make an audio recording of the proceedings.
They can also report or provide commentary from proceedings live, such as on social media, to allow others not present to see or listen to it.
In Wales this is “encouraged” but not backed up in law.
A spokesman for the Welsh Government, said: “It is a matter for each council to determine the detailed arrangements for these meetings the law currently neither explicitly permits or prevents filming, which provides for flexibility of approach.”
Abermule Communities Together was told by Abermule and Llandyssil Community Council clerk Gwilym Rippon that the clip which was recorded at a public meeting by remote attendance on 5 August 5 should be removed.
The group was warned that it could contravene legislation that governs reporting of Town and Community Council meetings in Wales.The community council's standing orders say that written permission is needed for reporting of this kind.
Members of ACT, which has campaigned against the bulk recycling facility and business park being built on the edge of the village, say they didn’t do anything wrong.
The recording of just under seven minutes showed ACT member Jeff Mathews and community council chairman Cllr Jane Rees discussing a more joined up approach to scrutinising the site which could see businesses brought there.
The community council is against this.
A spokesman for ACT said: “Representing hundreds of Abermule residents, we often attend community council meetings to ask questions and follow matters of concern to our community, and report back to them.
“We recorded a small part of a meeting to enable the community to view an important question we had raised and the responses.”
The group maintains it has done nothing wrong, and said that at higher levels of local government, recording, and the use of social media to report live from meetings is protected and even encouraged.
Members believe legislation on local government meting going back to 1960 outweighs the council’s standing orders.
Coucil clerk Mr Rippon, said: “The legislation is different in England and Wales with respect of the recording of meetings.
“I made that decision to request its removal together with the Chair (Cllr Jane Rees) Vice Chair (Cllr Paul Davies) and County Councillor (Cllr Gareth Pugh).
“All councillors were copied into the email requesting its removal.”
The legislation in Wales does differ to England at town and community council level.
The law is based on Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 updated in the The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014.
In England people attending meetings can film, take photographs or make an audio recording of the proceedings.
They can also report or provide commentary from proceedings live, such as on social media, to allow others not present to see or listen to it.
In Wales this is “encouraged” but not backed up in law.
A spokesman for the Welsh Government, said: “It is a matter for each council to determine the detailed arrangements for these meetings the law currently neither explicitly permits or prevents filming, which provides for flexibility of approach.”
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service
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