Lewisham Council TV
Lewisham Council has begun webcasting its meetings. The first-ever recording was made on Wednesday and is available to view here now.
This has to be the right way forward. Traditional local media cannot cover the Council meetings in detail and many Councillors and prospective Councillors have in the past complained that meetings have not always been run in the best interests of local democracy, with the Mayor's decisions shielded from proper scrutiny by councillors.
The service is very high-quality and includes bookmarks that allow you to jump to any member's question and search for contributions by speaker (neither of Brockley ward's new Councillors made a contribution on Wednesday, although Cllr Johnson made several).
Some highlights include:
13:30mins - Cllr Johnson asks whether the Council believes that enough has been done to reassure the public in the wake of the recent spate of shootings in Brockley. Answer: yes, they do.
21:30mins - Cllr Johnson asks whether the Deputy Mayor believes there's a case for strengthening conservation area enforcement to provide better regulation of the types of local businesses operating in places like Brockley Mews. Answer: Maybe, but it would be a borough-wide response, rather than just a conservation area issue.
Broadcasting the sessions should not only help keep Lewisham residents better informed, but also ensure meetings are conducted to a high-standard.
However, check out the initially facetious and ultimately useless response by the Deputy Mayor in response to a supplementary question to Johnson's question about rogue businesses. When asked about enforcement, where residents' regular complaints are ignored, the Deputy jokingly asks whether anyone's reported the problems and then says "we really only have two planning enforcement officers and it takes a long time to get round to them." (22.46).
There's also a depressing amount of points-scoring based on national political squabbles, which serves no valuable purpose in terms of arriving at the right solutions to local problems.
It may take a while for the glare of digital scrutiny to improve the quality of local democracy, but it's a vital step.
Let us know if you spot any important moments from Wednesday's meeting. Thanks to Cllr Johnson for sending the link.
19 comments:
Is this going to be the new Big Brother.
Intrigued by the comment that it's no enough for people in the conservation area to be concerned about enforcement of conservation area rules/businesses operating in the mews but people across the entire borough somehow have to be involved.
Sounds like a complete fob off to me. I'm sure more than half the people in the enormous borough of Lewisham have never even set foot in the Brockley conservation area let alone along the mews. How and for that matter, why, are they supposed to have a view on their use?
@HH - that wasn't really his point. His point was that rogue businesses don't only operate in conservation areas, they are a borough wide problem, which needs a borough wide solution.
That's surely fair enough, as far as it goes.
Oh I see.... I look forward to the solution then!
13:30mins - Cllr Johnson asks whether the Council believes that enough has been done to reassure the public in the wake of the recent spate of shootings in Brockley. Answer: yes, they do.
I cannot watch the link right now but does the person answering this question go into detail becuase, apart from hearing about a street meeting between residents and the cops near Whitbread Rd, I haven't come across anything done by LBC to reassure me that this matter is being dealt with.
@DD - a few slightly vague examples were given in a not-altogether-convincing way.
I think this is excellent.
Just as in Westminster, behaviour improves tremendously when the sunlight camera is let in on it (as long as people remember they are being filmed of course.)
Let's not forget that these councillors are actually paid by the taxpayer ( and not badly either!)
I didn't think councillors were paid. Just expenses.
they get about 9.5k per year I think
it varies and in some boroughs 25k.... used to be just expenses...
Gulp! Don't know if I should be pleased or concerned that Madeline Long is chair of council.
In the past I've seen her attempt to close down democratic debate...ho hum.
Will the Mayor's cabinet meetings also be videoed? I'm still at a loss to know what cabinet members do.
Also...what's the point of having answers videoed if the questions aren't online for another 2-3 months?
29 Public Questions
27 Members Questions
And with that we are back to the dark unilluminating days prior to May 2006.
I believe prior to this meeting the average number of councillors questions was about 50.
Does the council chamber look rather empty?
29:00 The cabinet member for Communication & Strategy....is he being sponsored or does he think he's a judge on America's X-Factor?
Have to say his answer re 'strategy' confirms he's a spin doctor.
Interesting Council pension fund has risen by £196m to £715m.
Council reserves of £11.5m 'the minimum prudent level'
Paul Maslin, " I would caution anyone taking the view we can use this money to postspone or avoid altogether taking the very difficult decisions we are going to have to take over the next few months to ensure affectively we downsize the organisation, so we can set a balanced budget."
'Lax' Cabinet member Paul Maslin was asked about the increased cost of the Brockley PFI. Would it be met by PFI credits or fall apon residents of Lewisham.
Paul Maslin was able to provide an answer but would obtain a detailed answer.
Residents of Brockley may be interested in the last motion (cllr. Brooke)regarding an increase of knife crime in the borough.
The cabinet member for law and order asserts gun crime has declined over the past year.
If you want evidence where this council is heading view Cllr Shands and the Cabinet Member's responses.
The last motion on knife was I believe raised by a friend of Stephen Lawerence who was present when Stephen was murdered.
Cllr Shand should hang his head in shame at his petty party political point scoring.
During another motion local councillor Paul Bell said there were no burglaries in Crofton Park.
@ 2:01:00 There is motion where the South London Line train service to Victoria is disccussed and funding possibilities.
Post a Comment