Councillors given permission to upload debate videos to social media
A local council is to allow its councillors to upload videos from debates to their social media as it looks to avoid a £200k live streaming bill.
The motion had proposed for Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council to provide online viewing of all committee meetings to the public.
However, elected members opted for a social media option amid a council report claiming live streaming of meetings would come at a high cost to ratepayers.
Councillor Gary Hynds, who brought forward the transparency motion, said: “As an independent, this has involved a huge amount of work, persistence and determination over a long period of time, as is well known.
“From the very beginning, this was about pushing this council further towards transparency by default, maximum transparency, where openness is the standard position, not the exception. This report represents a very significant step forward.”
The council ended the live streaming of its committees in October 2022, with a report at the time citing running costs of £6,455 per year.
An up to date claim of increased costs was seen in a new report before the chamber stating an in house cost of up to £200k over the next four years. This was estimated at a wage bill of just under £50k a year to employ a full time technician.
The local authority holds six committees each month and only the planning committee in July and August.
Mr Hynds added: “I also particularly welcome the inclusion allowing councillors to clip and share footage from meetings through social media and other platforms.
“Importantly, this is not simply about technology. It is about public confidence, accessibility and engagement.
“Transparency and accountability matter enormously, but so does respecting ratepayer money, and I am particularly pleased that this package successfully delivers on both fronts.
“Overall, I believe this marks a very important milestone for this council in terms of transparency, accountability and openness.”
The cross party agreed option includes live stream of the full council meetings and upload video recordings of all committee meetings in one to three working days.
Corporate chairperson Paul Porter added: "Never underestimate one voice in this chamber.
“It is also a success for our ratepayers as well.”