Agenda item

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

The Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance, which outlined the Council’s use of the Regulation of Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), which governed the acquisition and disclosure of communications data and the use of covert surveillance by local authorities.

The report indicated that the Council used powers under RIPA to support its core functions for the purpose of prevention and detection of crime where an offence may be punishable by a custodial sentence of 6 months or more or were related to the underage sale of alcohol and tobacco.  There were three processes available to local authorities under RIPA: the acquisition of communications data; directed surveillance; and covert human intelligence sources (“CHIS”).

The Act set out the procedures that the Council must follow if it wished to use directed surveillance techniques or acquire communications data in order to support core function activities (e.g., typically those undertaken by Trading Standards and Environmental Health).  The information obtained as a result of such operations can later be relied upon in court proceedings providing RIPA was complied with.

The Home Office Code for Covert Surveillance and Property Interference recommended that elected members, whilst not involved in making decisions or specific authorisations for the local authority to use its powers under Part II of the Act, should review the Council’s use of the legislation and provide approval to its policies.  The Council adopted this approach for the oversight of the authority’s use of Parts I and II of the Act.

2019 saw the implementation of Part 3 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA).  The IPA consolidated all existing powers available to law enforcement and other agencies. The legislation also ensured that the powers conveyed were fit for the fast-moving digital age and introduced the Office for Communications Data Authorisation (OCDA) which is now responsible for independently authorising all applications for communications data. This has removed the requirement for local authorities to seek judicial approval for communications data.

The Cabinet Member noted that, for the period 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023, no applications were made for either the Use of Directed Surveillance or Covert Human Intelligence sources or the Use of Acquisitions and Disclosure of Communications Data. 

The Cabinet Member was advised that the report had also been considered by the Audit and Procurement Committee at their meeting on 25^th November 2024.  Whilst the Committee did not make any recommendations to the Cabinet Member for consideration, they had queried whether RIPA was used for the purposes of surveillance of flytipping hotspots.  They were advised that, currently, overt surveillance was used in respect to flytipping.  After further investigations following the meeting, the Committee were provided with a briefing note which confirmed that, where appropriate, the provisions under RIPA could be used in respect of flytipping as it carries the relevant custodial sentence required for the use of RIPA.

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities:

1.  Notes the comments made by the Audit and Procurement Committee.

2.  Approves the report as a formal record of the Council’s use and compliance with RIPA.