It has cost more than £400,000
The ground floor committee room at Loxley House
A council has improved audio equipment and started broadcasting its meetings live after more than a decade of calls for better democratic accountability.
Nottingham City Council started broadcasting its meetings online on Tuesday (April 14).
The ground floor committee room at Loxley House, where most of the council’s meetings are held, has been criticised often for its poor acoustics and lack of microphones or audio equipment.
City councillors and members of the public have long called for improved audio and livestreaming capabilities for the authority’s public meetings, most of which cannot be viewed online, unlike many other councils.
The ability to watch council meetings online became more commonplace during the coronavirus pandemic, but only full council meetings at Nottingham Council House are streamed live on YouTube.
In September last year documents revealed the Labour-led authority had allocated £435,000 to install audio equipment and partner with a webcasting provider.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands the sum was used to buy equipment, including screens, microphones, recording equipment, as well as the software needed for recording and livestreaming meetings.
Cllr Kirsty Jones, of the Nottingham People’s Alliance opposition group, told the LDRS: “I am really pleased that Nottingham City Council is now webcasting committee meetings.
“Many residents cannot attend to watch in person due to the majority of committee meetings being within most people’s working hours.
“This change means that residents can hear full debates in committees and see how their councillors are representing them by either watching live or at a time that is more convenient for them.
“Residents will be able to scrutinise the decision-making of the council better than they were able to before.
“Nottingham City Council was a bit of an outlier for not doing this sooner but I am glad that it is in place now.
“The microphones also make meetings far more accessible, particularly for those with hearing impairments, both in person and on the webcast. Overall, this is a positive change for democratic accountability.”
Cllr Andrew Rule, of the Nottingham Independents and Independent opposition group, previously said he had “long supported” the greater transparency of meetings.
“Indeed I made the suggestion in 2015 that Notts TV and other media outlets be invited to broadcast full council meetings and committee meetings – the suggestion was rejected by the then deputy leader (Cllr Graham Chapman) on the grounds council meetings weren’t exciting enough,” he said.
In 2022 Nottinghamshire County Council, which was run by the Conservatives at the time before Reform took control, spent £437,000 to improve its existing livestreaming technology.
This included cameras that could track a person when they were speaking.
Mansfield District Council, a smaller district authority, also spent £9,000 on new cameras and livestreaming technology in 2023.
Most other councils across Nottinghamshire, including Gedling, Broxtowe, and Newark, have had similar livestreaming capabilities for a number of years.
A council spokesman added: “All council and committee meetings will be webcast as part of the council’s commitment to transparency, accessibility and accountability. Providing live streams of meetings will allow a broader audience to engage with local democracy and council decision-making.
“Improvements have also been made to audio facilities in the committee room at Loxley House where most key meetings take place to ensure people attending in person can hear discussions clearly.”
