1 September 2005

Devon County Council has overhauled its site to enable residents to participate even more closely in the administration of their region.

Since 2003, council meetings have been broadcast by webcast over the council's websites, enabling the public to keep right up to date with any important developments.

The webcast homepage has now been redeveloped, allowing for even quicker coverage, with sharper and more clearly defined images as well.

In addition, users of the website can also directly influence the way the county is run by participating in online surveys and polls.

The council's champion for e-government, councillor Christine Channon, commented: "Users of the online service can watch council meetings live, or play back recordings of meetings from the archive.

"People can also use the website to send in their views on issues discussed, decisions taken and the webcasting service itself.

"We encourage members of the public to send in questions about matters that concern them and these will be answered by either a member of the Executive or at full county council meetings."

Devon County Council's website is ranked among the top 20 local authority sites in the UK, and attracted over 177,000 visitors in July alone.

In that same month, 403 people used its webcast service, bringing the total number of users since its launch to over 6,500.

© Adfero Ltd

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