Pickles to bring in law on right to film and tweet on council meetings

October 28, 2013

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is to introduce legislation giving people the right to report, film, blog and tweet council meetings – including committee meetings.

The new law will be part of the Local Audit and Accountability Bill, which is due to be debated by the House of Commons today having passed through the House of Lords.

The Department for Communities and Local Government claimed that secondary legislation introduced in 2012 had opened up councils’ executive meetings to the press and public.

“However, this did not apply to councils’ committee meetings or full council, nor to parish councils,” it said, adding that the Communities Secretary had asked councils to open up their committee meetings, but many were still not complying.

The DCLG said ministers believed that councils which banned residents from blogging, recording or tweeting at council meetings were “clinging to outdated analogue ideals in the face of a digital age”.

Eric Pickles said: “An independent local press and robust public scrutiny is essential for a healthy local democracy. We have given councils more power, but local people need to be able to hold their councils to account. We are taking action against town hall Pravdas which are undermining the independent free press, but I want to do more to help the new cadre of hyper-local journalists and bloggers.

“I asked for councils to open their doors, but some have slammed theirs shut, calling in the police to arrest bloggers and clinging to old-fashioned standing orders.”

The Communities Secretary added: “This new right will be the key to helping bloggers and tweeters as well as journalists to unlocking the mysteries of local government and making it more transparent for all. My department is standing up for press freedom.”

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