From next week, meetings of the principal committees of Shetland Islands Council will be webcast live, allowing the public to watch the debate on any desktop or mobile device.
The Council chamber relocated from Lerwick Town Hall to the former St Ringans church earlier this year with the first Council meeting taking place on 16th March. The project included the installation of conference equipment and broadcast technology to allow future live streaming of meetings. Councillors and officers have since had time to familiarise themselves with the use of the equipment and protocols in meetings.
Future meetings will be broadcast live for anyone to watch the debate and decisions made by councillors. Seating is available in the Council chamber and the public may also attend Council meetings in person. While the majority of Council meetings are open to the public, some business will be held in private, as required by local government legislation.
The committee meetings that will be webcast live are:
- Shetland Islands Council;
- Policy & Resources Committee;
- Education & Families Committee;
- Environment & Transport Committee;
- and Development Committee.
Andrea Manson, Convener said: “This is an exciting step forward for the Council. Improving access to the democratic process was a significant part of the decision to move to the new chamber. The new technology will help extend the transparency around the decisions we make, something that the public rightly expect of us. I am sure that live streamed meetings will become the norm so that folk can see how we reach the decisions that affect the Shetland community.”
The first live meeting will be the Education and Families meeting on Tuesday 6th September at 10am. The link to view Council meetings – and to see recordings of past meetings – is www.shetland.gov.uk/watch