Journalists and members of the public will be free to film, record or tweet during local authority meetings under new rules that take effect this week.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has made it illegal for councils to ban filming after concerns that some local bureaucrats had ignored calls to be more transparent.

Some councils had flouted guidance from the department urging them to open up their meetings to modern technology, by blocking filming or tweeting and in some cases even calling the police to evict people who tried to record proceedings, officials said.

From Wednesday, councils and other local government bodies, such as fire authorities and Transport for London, will have to allow members of the public and press to film, record, photograph or use social media to report on their meetings.

Eric Pickles, the local government secretary, said: “We live in a digital age, where people tweet, blog and share video clips on a daily basis. So it is fitting that these important changes will ensure local democracy can shine, as local journalists and taxpayers can report on the good work of their council in a modern way and in real time.”

The move has been welcomed by newspaper publishers, who have warned that local authorities are increasingly stifling their attempts to report on potentially contentious matters such as planning decisions. At a time when many regional newspapers have had to cut back on reporting staff because of financial pressures, that is undermining their ability to hold local government to account, they argue.

Lynne Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Newspaper Society, said: “We’ve been seeing a worrying trend of increased secrecy among public bodies, making it harder for local newspapers to perform their vital scrutinising role on behalf of their readers. We hope these new rules will help to open up councils and ensure greater transparency over how taxpayers’ money is spent.”

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Most people, working nine to five, can’t give up their time to attend council hearings and procedures, so they must be given a chance to play their part in the democratic process.”

A ministerial aide said that all local authorities had been warned about the changes in recent weeks. The authorities are required to provide “reasonable facilities” for journalists, bloggers or members of the public to film, photograph and tweet, such as space to view and hear the meeting, seats and desks.

Some councils resisted allowing filming because of concerns that it would be disruptive or too expensive. Some even cited health and safety legislation or the risk of “reputational damage” as a reason.
Source: The Times, Media News, 4 August 2014