Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has streamed its first live committee meeting, allowing the public to watch the democratic proceedings live from their chosen location.
Viewers were able to see decisions being made by Cabinet as they happened, as well as being able to follow the agenda items, marking a further advancement with public participation.
Among the agenda items discussed by Cabinet was RCT Theatres Christmas Offer Screenings; Living Landscapes Project; the Council’s Approach To Tackling Empty Homes, as set out in the Empty Homes Strategy; The Council’s Draft Corporate Performance Report; and Engagement On The Council’s Budget 2022/23.
Councillor Maureen Webber, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member with responsibility for Council Business, said: “The live streaming of the Council Cabinet meeting online is a huge step forward for the local authority, allowing the public to play an even more active role in our proceedings than they normally do.
“Not only is the public able to follow the Business Agenda and decisions as and when they are made, but they are also able to view hybrid meetings that have been held earlier and uploaded to the Council website.
“Recordings have been made available for the public to view how the key decisions which effect their community are taken and moving forward, live broadcasting will be introduced incrementally across all committee functions. The next live broadcasting will be a Democratic Services Committee.
“This milestone sees the delivery of key commitment made to residents to further enhance public engagement and transparency through the broadcasting of formal committee proceedings.”
The live online webcast also linked to the Council’s Committee page, which provided viewers with details of the Elected Members and Officers addressing the Committee. Through the live streaming, those watching online were also able to select either the English or Welsh Language channel.
Following the meeting, the recording is then published on the Council webcasting page for future viewing, along with all other hybrid meetings that have taken place.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Webcasts
It is the Council’s intention to roll out the hybrid approach to meetings further, with Committee meetings being live streamed to increase further public participation in the democracy process.
Council Cabinet undertook its first hybrid meeting, which was recorded and webcast for future viewing on the Council website, on July 20. Since then, all Cabinet meetings have been taken forward using the hybrid setting and webcast through the new recording system.
On September 6, the Council’s Democratic Services Committee also undertook its first hybrid meeting, as well as its most recent meeting. The Council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee also undertook its first hybrid meeting on October 12.
Recordings of the hybrid meetings are published on the Council website at the earliest opportunity, available in both English and Welsh. The recordings also include interactive features for viewers, providing information regarding agenda item being discussed and details about the Elected Members and Officer contributing to the discussions.
At both the Cabinet and Democratic Services hybrid meetings there was a mix between those Elected Members that attended the meeting virtually, through the zoom platform, and those who attended in person at the Council Chamber, adhering to the COVID-19 safety measures in place and the maximum number of 26 places available.
The Council will continue with its phased roll-out of hybrid meetings as well as the live steaming of the Council’s Democratic Services Committee in November. The roll-out will continue with other Committees as the phased roll-out of hybrid meetings is progressed.
Posted on 23/10/2021