To confirm the minutes from the previous meeting
Minutes:
The minutes from 03 December 2019 were agreed as correct and then signed by the Chairman.
Cllr Adeleke commence the meeting and confirmed that there is a Town Councillor from Berkhamsted who will be doing some filming tonight. The decision has been checked with the Legal Department and they have advised that this is okay. Cllr Adeleke asked if any member wished to say anything about it and also asked that the Members agree or disagree that the filming must not be used for political purposes.
P White clarified that the law says that members of the public are able to film public meetings with a view to report on those public meetings and he intends to use it to report on this public meeting, which is allowed within the law.
Cllr Adeleke asked if Members were happy with that.
Cllr Bassadone queried who it was going to be reported to, generally to the public.
P White confirmed it was and maybe some other groups who are interested.
Cllr Oguchi queried the nature of the reporting.
P White advised he was a Councillor from Berkhamsted Town Council and the matter up for discussion this evening is of great interest to lots of Berkhamsted residents and many would like to know the discussions which happens this evening and like to know and understand the discussion points which are made.
Cllr Adeleke asked if the Portfolio Holder wished to add any comments. Cllr Griffiths made a general comment which was to make sure that all Members are happy to be filmed, because they have the right in law, ultimately if that’s their request she would like to honour it, but it doesn’t bother her.
Cllr Pringle said for clarification, have we sight of the right in law not to be filmed because as I was aware of the recent training, it was made abundantly clear to all who attended that these are meetings that can be filmed and that no stipulations can be put on it.
Cllr Griffiths confirmed that under GDPR and you have the right, certainly in meetings like this. I think that Full Council is slightly different because you are summoned to that meeting. If no-one has a problem with then it’s not an issue, but if any particular person in this room does not want to be filmed, I understand they have that right.
Cllr Adeleke asked that the legal expert advise us on this.
M Brookes confirmed that we do have a Code of Conduct on this issue which does allow filming, so unless any Councillor has a particularly strong view on it, then I believe the current position is that filming can be allowed.
Cllr Griffiths said that if any individual has the right to say they don’t want to be filmed, not that they have to leave the meeting, or they can’t be heard, they can ask not to be filmed.
M Brookes clarified that in an open public meeting there is a right to be filmed so the Member would have to exclude themselves if they didn’t want to be part of it.
Cllr Pringle said that we have all taken a free choice to stand as a public representative so I don’t think that applies.
Cllr Griffiths understood that, but confirmed that there is a still a right. There are all sorts of reasons that people may not want to be filmed.
Cllr Pringle confirmed that’s right but they don’t have any legal standing necessarily.
Cllr Mahmood added that in previous meetings the meeting has been recorded, but there is a difference between filming and recording and was there a particular reason for filming rather than recording.
P White said he had the legal text which he is happy to circulate as he understands it’s maybe a new thing, so to help people understand the legal background he will share that round. The reason for recording video rather than recording sound is just because if people outside of this meeting are wanting to understand what’s happening here, it helps them to see the environment in which these meetings take place and it’s part of the transparency regulations in which it’s allowed. I apologise that I didn’t give the Council any warning.
Cllr Mahmood asked if P White was an independent Councillor for Berkhamsted Town Council. P White confirmed he was a Berkhamsted Town Councillor from the Lib Dem party and his interest is in regards to the concern amongst residents for the potential to build on an area of parkland.