ALTHOUGH Kent County Council has refused to reveal the cost of its internet TV station the authority did issue the following full statement:

Kent TV is target 24 in Towards 2010 and as such was approved in public by full council along with the full action plan that accompanied it, which has been publicly available on the KCC website since the full council approval. The public has been encouraged to view all action plans in the Towards 2010 publication.

A separate Members Seminar open to public and press also gave full opportunity for all councillors to raise points on Towards 2010 including Kent TV.

We are not talking about Sky but a broadband based service through the existing website, www.kent.gov.uk.

Everyone from central government through to local government at all levels and, indeed, the media agrees there is a need to find new and innovative ways of engaging the public in the democratic process.

The broadcast on the Kent website of full council meetings and Cabinet has attracted many hundreds of viewers and been a success. This should be compared to the public attendance at council meetings

The special Council meeting involving the Kent County Youth Council showed what could be achieved through Kent TV. Schools were invited to view the webcast and participate electronically and to send in their views.

Local broadcasting by TV companies is decreasing and Kent TV opens up exciting possibilities to fill this gap by finding new ways to get more people involved in real local issues. The initiative will open up democracy for groups who find it hard to participate in local issues and projects, for instance young mums at home, the elderly and the handicapped.

Kent has 612 schools who could link up to Kent TV and indeed produce programmes giving exciting possibilities to showcase Kent talent, increase learning opportunities and develop career opportunities.

Other local authorities are actively exploring the local TV idea and it is already successfully operating in the USA, for instance Seattle.

No party politics

Kent TV would provide a superb showcase to promote Kent tourism and economic development through promoting the best that Kent has to offer.

The Government White Paper "A New Future for Communications" enables local authorities to provide information services via TV and radio as long as this information is not party-political in nature. Section 349 of the Communications Act 2003 removed the restriction on local authorities and brought into being the prospect of a new broadcasting role. This power is consistent with the powers of promoting well-being in a locality and the community leadership role envisaged in the Local Government Act 2000.

The provision by a local authority of local information concerning the services available in an accessible and contemporary manner is central to the delivery of modernised local government services and the digital age is well underway.

Local TV can assist the democratic process by reaching out to the people of Kent with information, particularly those in the younger age bracket of 18-32, where the voting percentage is lowest. This age group is most likely to have internet access and use it regularly. There could even be potential in the future for on-line voting as the technology already exists.

Other opportunities

• To build on the national DigiTV pilot KCC has been involved in, providing information on council services in partnership with several Kent Local Authorities (initiated by Kent Connects), with a presence on Sky, ntl and Telewest.

• This project has been up and running for two years and the drive now is to make it more interactive. Kent TV would be an ideal platform to expand and develop this initiative.

• The drive towards community television by Community Television Networks (CCN) has attracted high profile support. This national initiative focuses on installing large screens in prime public locations, e.g. leisure centres, NHS waiting areas etc. to carry messages on community safety. This initiative is up and running in several parts of the UK, such as Hastings and Harrow, and Kent TV could take this forward in a more exciting and innovative way with our key partner organisations.

• Regional programmes have been consistently popular with viewers, indicating the considerable potential and demand for locally-produced programmes

• To enhance and proclaim the advantages Kent enjoys and the opportunities it offers, for purposes of tourism and economic development – ensuring the image of Kent as a great place to live and work prevails. The Greater London Authority has a TV channel dedicated solely to tourism, which has proved successful.

• To showcase KCC as an organisation to the people of Kent and beyond – there is no better medium for reaching out across the globe and giving a balanced view.

• The benefits of Kent 2012 would be extended enormously through use of this outlet for information

• An increased educational service to Kent schools could be part of the comprehensive Kent TV service, both with lessons and with events relevant to the syllabus.

• ITV Meridian is withdrawing from its public service broadcasting commitments in Kent and East Sussex, which will result in an end to all Kent-based programmes on ITV, other than news and current affairs by 2007

• To entertain, and inform through that entertainment, by providing a canvas for the county’s talent in the arts, music, films sport and business and helping raise the profile of local talent.

• There is potential for income generation for local TV, for example advertising, sponsorship and selling space/time on the station.

• There are endless possibilities around interaction with local communities in terms of volunteering, job opportunities, the learning and knowledge economy etc.

• Analogue TV will be switched off in Kent in 2012, transferring instead to a fully digital service

A number of other Local Authorities and local organisations are looking into the possibilities around local TV, for example in Hampshire, Hillingdon, the West Midlands, Manchester, Solent, Brighton and Hastings. Solent TV www.solent.tv have hundreds of thousands of people watching online all over the world and it is the Isle of Wight’s favourite website and officially the number one website according to Amazon’s Alexa. More details are attached as appendix 1. South East TV has also featured in the press recently. Further afield, there have been some recorded and recognised success stories, e.g. in Seattle, USA, where local press coverage here has been almost wholly positive of this government-run initiative.