Council leader raises staff safety concerns over livestreaming more meetings during heated debate
Barnsley Council leader Sir Steve Houghton has raised concerns about staff safety and consent as councillors debated plans to livestream more council meetings.
Speaking at a full council meeting on Wednesday (February 5), Sir Steve warned that broadcasting additional committees could expose council officers and members of the public to abuse or intimidation if introduced without further consultation.
He told councillors the proposal: “could turn out to be very bad policy if we are not careful”.
The motion, tabled by Liberal Democrat councillors Steve Hunt and by Chris Wray, calls for a wider range of council meetings to be livestreamed and recorded, including planning, licensing, audit, scrutiny and area council meetings.
Currently, full council and cabinet meetings are already webcast, with recordings available online for six months. The proposal argues that cost savings from changes to election cycles could be used to fund the expansion.
Sir Steve said that unlike full council and cabinet, the additional meetings would place council officers and members of the public on camera, something he said required careful consideration.
He cited a past planning case in which an officer was identified at a meeting and later followed home, leading to police involvement and the officer leaving the authority.
“We need to be very careful in putting staff faces into that public domain in the wrong context,” he added, saying some officers already receive threats of abuse and intimidation.
However, Liberal Democrat group leader Hannah Kitching argued that the meetings listed in the motion were already public and could already be recorded or livestreamed by anyone attending.
The debate became heated at points, with councillor Robert Frost heard saying “I didn’t talk over you so shut up!” towards the opposite side of the chamber. Independent councillor Jake Lodge said the exchange illustrated the case for webcasting meetings, calling on Cllr Frost to apologise to Liberal Democrat leader Hannah Kitching. Cllr Frost later apologised for shouting.
The motion was lost following a vote.