Agenda item

The Chair referred to the recording of meetings and reported that correspondence and discussion had taken place with a member of the public who had stated his intention to tape record the meeting of the Committee.  The Chair explained that he could not give permission for the meeting to be recorded and asked the Member Engagement Manager to outline the Council's position on the matter.

The Member Engagement Manager referred to Part 3 of the Council's Access to Information Procedure Rules, which stated that members of the public may attend all meetings subject to that right not extending to the making of recordings without consent.  The Officer also went on to explain that members of the public could be excluded from a meeting for disorderly conduct or misbehaviour and that evidence of audio transmission was deemed to be disorderly conduct.

The Officer advised that the member of the public who had made the request to record the meeting had cited examples of Local Authority meetings held in England which were recorded and the policy of the Planning Inspectorate regarding the recording of meetings.  The Officer had explained that neither had any standing in Flintshire County Council's arrangements.

The Officer said he had advised the Chair that if a member of the public insisted on recording a meeting without permission then the meeting could be adjourned.  The Chair stated that if he was aware that the meeting was being recorded he would request that the recording be stopped.  If the person making the recording did not comply with the request he would then suspend the meeting for ten minutes.

The Chair was informed that the meeting was being recorded by a member of the public.  The Chair therefore adjourned the meeting for ten minutes and asked the Member Engagement Manager to discuss the issue further with the person concerned. The Chair apologised to Members and to the members of the public and press in attendance for the inconvenience caused. 

During the adjournment, a Member proposed that the rule of procedure relating to a disturbance by a member of the public be suspended. In his response the Chair made reference to the relevant section of the Constitution which explained that this was not possible.

The Chair referred to the agenda for the meeting and decided that the Committee should defer the item on the Medium Term Plan for Libraries, and move to the next item of business on the agenda.  At this point the Chair asked the member of the public if he would stop recording the meeting.  The member of the public said he would not and indicated that he intended to continue to record the proceedings.  As the member of the public remained in his seat and continued to record the start of the next item the Chair stated that he had no option but to defer the meeting to another date and reiterated the rules under the Council’s Constitution and Standing Orders. 

The meeting was suspended at 2.26 p.m.  The Chair extended his apologies again to all present for the inconvenience caused. 

Following the adjournment the member of the public who had been asked to desist from recording the meeting continued to make a recording.

RESOLVED:

That the meeting be adjourned.