Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to prevent Councils using copyright to prohibit the ability of the public to distribute and report on meetings utilising the official council recording where those recordings are already in the public domain.

The Local Government Act 1972 section 100 prescribes the right of press and public access. The Openness of Local Government Regulation 2014, give rights to members of the press and public to use modern technology and communication methods such as filming, audio-recording, blogging and tweeting to report the proceedings of the meetings of their councils and other local government bodies.

Local authorities, though independent of central government, must act within their statutory powers and comply with legal obligations. It is the statutory role of the Monitoring Officer to ensure the local authority abides by the law, and its own stated policies, at all times.