As Localise West Midlands, we are playing an important role in pressing for and enabling a civil society voice about the West Midlands Combined Authority, bringing together people and organisations that have knowledge and experience around economic issues, transport, housing and health. We have blogged before about the West Midlands Civil Society Forum.
West Midlands Combined Authority Board meetings are held at different venues around the region, but are not livestreamed. Even when the meetings are held in rooms equipped for webstreaming, the facility is not used. As WMCSF, we’ve asked why this isn’t happening, and been told it probably won’t happen till the mayor is elected. Until it does, we try to get to each meeting, to observe proceedings and to make the point that people are interested in the combined authority.
But last Friday’s meeting was held at Nuneaton Town Hall. Again, the chamber has cameras but in this case they aren’t set up for webstreaming. Uniquely though, local Green Party councillor Keith Kondakor has been using the right to film meetings to put proceedings on a YouTube channel.
So here for the first time is a WMCA Board meeting for the wider public to see: