The council’s decision to stop broadcasting meetings has been questioned by West Lothian’s opposition SNP group.
The group questioned the plug being pulled twice during this month’s meeting of the full council.
But the ruling Labour administration rejected criticism saying the move saved money and low viewing numbers meant the broadcasts were not supported.
Councillor Moira McKee-Shemilt put a question to council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick and Councillor Pauline Orr raised an issue about the remoteness of the Development Management Committee and difficulty in accessing the council’s planning portal.
Both councillors made the point that West Lothian was the only council in Scotland which did not record or broadcast its meetings.
Councillor McKee-Shemilt had asked: “Webcasting of council committees could be considered as a vital tool for ensuring that our decision-making processes remain open and accessible to all West Lothian constituents, regardless of their physical ability to attend in person.
“Since the decision to cease webcasting committee meetings in [May/June] 2026, what specific ‘reasonable adjustments’ has the Council implemented, or intend to implement, to ensure that constituents with disabilities are not placed at a substantial disadvantage?
In his response Council Leader Councillor Fitzpatrick said: ”The decision to move from broadcasting Council and Committee meetings online to providing public access only at physical meeting venues was taken at the meeting of Council held on 24 February 2026 as part of the approval of the revenue budget.”
The council had carried out an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) on the potential effects. This had followed a public consultation when people were asked if they supported the removal of broadcasting which the council said costs £51,000 a year.
Retention of broadcasts had very little public support. Ironically the four-hour budget meeting which made the decision had the largest audience, but that was only around 36
Councillor Fitzpatrick added: The IIA identified that the proposal to move from broadcasting Council and Committee meetings online to providing public access only at physical meeting venues could not be modified to reduce impacts.
He added: “Council agreed that the proposal would be implemented. No member moved an alternative position.”
The council has made improvements to access its online pages.
After the meeting SNP group leader Councillor Janet Campbell told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the SNP had only supported the removal because it believed meetings would still be recorded.
The decision was made in February and the broadcasts stopped in mid-June.
Council officers said this week that the budget position had been very clear. The SNP group had made its own budget proposals which had not included retention of broadcasting and had proposed scrapping of the council’s newspaper The Bulletin.
This four times a year publication, produced in-house, goes through 95,000 doors.
In her motion on planning Councillor Orr had said people often had difficulty accessing the council’s planning portal because of technical issues.
She added: “With the demise of meeting recordings, it is now more important than ever to work differently in order to provide transparency to our constituents.”
A spokesperson for the council said that the move to broadcasting had been introduced as part of the responses to the Covid lockdown.
They added: “The viewing figures from members of the public was proven to be small during the time in which broadcasting was available.
“The council faces a budget gap of around £23million over the next two years and the council continually look at ways to deliver services efficiently and focus on priorities.
“Given the financial pressures facing the council, a consultation was undertaken to allow groups and members of the public to have their say on a wide range of budget proposals. One proposal was to “Reducing Spending on Non-Statutory Services”
“Broadcasting of council meetings is a Non-Statutory Service, meaning that there is no legal requirement for any council to live broadcast meetings. Given the financial pressures facing the council and the low demand for this service , it was agreed by Council that this service would be removed.
“There was no alternative position moved when the decision was made in February. Members of the public can, as always, attend meetings in person and view from the public gallery. Full agendas, reports and minutes of all meetings are also published on the council’s website.”
“There is no longer resources within the council to undertake visual broadcasts.”
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
