Under new rules introduced in August 2014, freedom of the press was boosted when Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles gave public the right to record council meetings. This move was intended to bring openness, transparency and accountability to local government. A number of other local authorities have been recording and live streaming their proceedings for a number of years now. These include Birmingham City Council, London Borough of Croydon, Wakefield Council, Bury Council, York City Council, Oldham Council. We are calling for Hartlepool Borough Council to explore the implementation of a proper web-based broadcast of all its public meetings in the interest of showing open, transparent and accountability in its council proceedings.