IT MAY soon be possible for locals to keep an eye on their local councillors – from the comfort of their own home.

North Ayrshire Council is looking into ‘webcasting’ – broadcasting over the internet – meetings from the new council chamber currently being constructed on the ground floor of Cunninghame House in Irvine.

Most council meetings are open to the public, but convene in the middle of the day making them difficult for most people to attend.

Webcasts have the advantage that meetings can be viewed live from anywhere with an internet connection or later at a convenient time.

Several Scottish local authorities are already webcasting their business meetings, including Moray Council who were pioneers as far back as 2004.

A spokesperson for Moray Council said webcasting has been a ‘huge benefit’.

“Since its introduction to Moray Council in 2004, the webcasting of meetings has been of huge benefit, enabling many more public witnesses to the democratic process than could possibly fit into the council chamber.

“This is a very practical solution during debates over controversial issues affecting many hundreds of residents.   “Elected members also feel their electorate are able to more easily see and hear them in action, as has been the case for the Westminster Parliament for many more years.

“Other benefits are that meetings are recorded far more accurately than would be possible by note-taking, and journalists wishing to report on particular meetings can do so from a distance.

“Anyone who missed a meeting can also access the webcast archive for six months afterwards.” Glasgow, Edinburgh, Renfrewshire, Highland and East Ayrshire councils also currently webcast council meetings.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: “The facilities for webcasting have been included in the refurbished Council Chambers which will be in use from the end of October.

“We will be conducting test runs of webcasting over the next few months in order to test it out and do training.

“This will inform a later decision by Council as to which meetings they wish to webcast.” Both the SNP and Labour group leaders are in favour of the move.

Council leader Willie Gibson said: “I am very excited about this new development in widening democracy.

“This should be warmly welcomed and it will allow constituents to see the workings of Council and also observe their elected representatives at first hand.

“Hopefully it will raise the standard of debates without the side effects of members showboating or commenting unnecessarily.

“I have been actively encouraging this along with our Chief Executive for some time now and I think it shows clearly the desire of this administration to move forward and make a positive difference in local government for all of the people in North Ayrshire.” Labour Group leader Peter McNamara agreed: “Several council’s across Scotland already broadcast their meetings online and I believe, as our politics changes with 21st century technologies, it would be a welcome addition in North Ayrshire which would hopefully open up our local politics to a wider audience.”