NEATH PORT TALBOT COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL

Council

17th July 2019

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Digital Officer

Matter for Decision

Wards Affected:

All wards

Engagement of the Public in the Democratic Processes of the Council

Purpose of the Report:

To seek a decision from the Council that the Democratic Services Committee be formally tasked with:

exploring the case for introducing webcasting of some or all of the Council’s formal meetings;

identifying and appraising other options for increasing public participation in the Council’s decision making processes.

Executive Summary:

The Leader of Council, in making his annual address to Council on 22nd May 2019, advised that the two leaders of the opposition groups had requested that further consideration be given to webcasting Council meetings. The Leader indicated that he supported a further review of this topic and referred to commitments already set out in the digital strategy “Smart and Connected” which were approved by Council in December 2018.

By way of background, in 2013/14, in recognition of the role technology could play in opening up access to Council meetings, the Welsh Government provided an opportunity for councils to bid for time limited specific grant funding to introduce webcasting of some or all of their meetings.

Neath Port Talbot Council undertook an assessment of the costs of introducing such technology at that time, however, as the funds available were inadequate to cover the expenditure that would have been incurred, the Council resolved not to participate in the initiative. It should be noted that at that time, the Council was already some five years into a programme of continuous budget cuts.

Since 2013/14 authorities across Wales have adopted webcasting of meetings to varying degrees.

As part of wider proposals to reform local government in Wales, Welsh Government published a White Paper in 2017 that proposed that the webcasting of meetings should become a statutory duty on councils. It is understood that this remains the Welsh Government’s intent although the timetable for introducing this new duty is uncertain.

The White Paper “Local Government: Resilient and Renewed also identifies the importance of councils giving wider consideration to the ways in which public participation in the democratic process could be increased.

The Leader of Council proposes that the Democratic Services Committee be formally tasked with exploring options for webcasting some or all of the Council’s meetings and to identify and appraise options for increasing participation in the democratic process.

Background:

Webcasting

The Council is committed to promoting democracy and facilitating public participation in its decision making processes. There are a wide range of ways in which this is achieved. Webcasting of some or all of the Council’s meetings has the potential to augment existing arrangements. However, there will be financial costs in introducing such arrangements as well as ensuring that any such developments are effective and provide value for money for the public purse.

Since 2013/14, councils across Wales have introduced webcasting of meetings to greater or lesser degrees. The technology and support in place to support such arrangements is also known to vary. Therefore, there is now significantly more experience of the benefits and challenges of webcasting available to inform further consideration of this topic by Neath Port Talbot Council.

Benefits of webcasting might be considered to include:

Improved transparency and accountability;

Improved public understanding of decision making arrangements and decisions;

Wider access to the formal business of the Council; and

Improved public engagement in the Council’s business.

Challenges associated with webcasting might include:

The financial costs associated with setting up webcasting and in operating the arrangements over time; and

The potential impact on the behaviour of those taking part in meetings that are webcast.

Councils across Wales routinely share information about the way in which they broadcast their meetings. So, it will be relatively straightforward to identify the spectrum of arrangements in place across Welsh councils and to weigh up the costs and benefits of adopting similar arrangements for Neath Port Talbot Council.

Increasing Public Participation in the Democratic Process

The Council has a wide range of mechanisms in place to encourage and assist members of the public to participate in the democratic process.

In approving the revised digital strategy “Smart and Connected” in December 2018, Council has already made a formal commitment to consider how digital technologies might play a role in increasing participation in the democratic processes of the Council.

Improvements already introduced at the end of the previous Council included:

Rolling out the system “Modern.gov” which provides:

Easier access to the forward work programmes of the Council/Cabinet and the other various committees;

Easier and more timely access to committee agendas and meeting papers;

More timely and easier access to decision notices for councillors; and

Easier access to other information such as Member remuneration and councillor interests.

The Modern.gov system already incorporates a feature that enables members of the public to petition the Council in relation to local issues. Such items can then be considered when forward work programmes and meeting agendas are developed. This feature is becoming widely used across Welsh councils.

The improvement work mentioned earlier in this section was overseen by the Democratic Services Committee and is just one example of opportunities available to the Council to increase public participation in the Council’s work.

Role of the Democratic Services Committee

Democratic Services Committees were introduced by the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011. Initially, the terms of reference for such committees were extremely limited by the primary legislation to matters concerned with the appointment of someone to the new statutory role of Head of Democratic Services and consideration of the resourcing of the democratic services functions of the authority. Subsequently, the legal position was amended to enable these committees to undertake wider pieces of work relevant to the support and advice available to elected members and the terms and conditions of office of elected members, provided that such activities were formally approved by full Council (s11A of the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013).

It is suggested that the Democratic Services Committee would be well placed to take forward any work that Council determines it would like to commission in respect of webcasting some or all of the Council’s meetings and to explore the options that are being adopted elsewhere to increase public participation in the democratic process, taking account of developments that may feature in future Welsh Government legislative proposals.

Financial Impacts:

There should be minimal financial impacts from undertaking any research/review work. However, there will likely be costs associated with the introduction of webcasting and in widening arrangements for public participation in the democratic process. These cost-benefits would need to be incorporated into any advice provided to Council.

Integrated Impact Assessment:

Any options for introducing webcasting of meeting and of increasing public participation in the democratic process would need to be assessed to ensure the Council’s legal obligations in respect of the Welsh language; equalities legislation; Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the biodiversity duty have been fully considered.

Valleys Communities Impacts:

Members would need to explicitly consider any options for webcasting of meetings and widening public participation in the democratic process for valley communities. This was agreed by the Cabinet in response to proposals presented by the Task and Finish Group on the Valleys which reported in 2018.

Workforce Impacts:

The introduction of additional ways of enabling public participation in the Council’s work will have impacts on the Council’s workforce which would need to be assessed as part of any options appraisal.

Legal Impacts:

The Democratic Services Committee can be commissioned to consider the matters covered in this report using powers contained in s11A of the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013. It should be noted that whatever proposals are developed by the Democratic Services Committee, a report will need to be brought to Full Council. Any such proposals will also likely require amendment to the Constitution of Neath Port Talbot Council. The Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Digital Officer and the Head of Legal Service will provide advice to the Committee and to Council in this regard.

Risk Management Impacts:

The risks associated with each option considered, together with any risks associated with implementing the proposed recommendations and also the risks associated with failing to implement the proposed recommendations, should be set out in any advice to Council.

Consultation:

It would be reasonable for the Council to expect the Democratic Services Committee to propose how the public would be involved and consulted in developing and implementing any changes associated with the content of this report.

Recommendations:

Council formally tasks the Democratic Services Committee to prepare advice for full Council by 31st March 2020 in respect of:

Options available to the Council to webcast some or all of the Council’s meetings and the cost-benefits of each of the options considered;

Options available to the Council to increase public participation in the Council’s democratic processes, including but not limited to ways in which digital technologies may assist the Council in this regard;

Proposals as to how the public can be involved in testing support for any of the options recommended;

Proposals as to how the set up and recurring costs associated with any options presented might be funded; and

An analysis of the risks and impacts of progressing/not progresing options considered.

Reasons for Proposed Decision:

To enhance arrangements that promote democracy and encourage public participation in the democratic processes of the Council.

Implementation of Decision:

The decision is proposed for implementation after the three day call in period.

Appendices:

None

List of Background Papers:

Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011

Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013

Officer Contact:

Mrs Karen Jones, Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Digital Officer. Tel: 01639 763284 or E-mail: k.jones3@npt.gov.uk