Decision details

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Approve the revised Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000(RIPA) Policy and Procedures;

2. Approve the new Acquisition of Communication Data Policy;

3. Request that the Leader of the Council be notified within 24 hours of any application for surveillance being granted;

4. Agree that relevant details (excluding any sensitive information) of all surveillance applications approved annually under The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 be published on the Council Website from May 2010 and;

5. Agree that the Council’s RIPA policy be reviewed on or before December 2010.

Reasons for decision

In June 2008, the London Borough of Hillingdon was inspected by the Office of Surveillance Commissioner (OSC) to review the Council’s management of covert activities. This coincided with significant public debate in the last year on the way local authorities had applied RIPA.

The inspection resulted in recommendations to improve the Council’s use of and procedures with regard to RIPA. Cabinet therefore approved an amended RIPA policy and procedures to take account of the recommendations given and also to introduce greater public transparency in the use of RIPA powers.

Related to the above, Cabinet also approved a revised Acquisition of Communication Data Policy.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Cabinet could have decided not to adopt the recommended policies. This could have resulted in non-compliance with the legislation and accompanying Codes of Practice, which in turn could have rendered evidence obtained inadmissible in court. If Cabinet had not approved a policy to acquire communications data this may have exposed the Council to a fine or even a legal challenge when seeking to use evidence obtained using these powers.

Officer to action:

Beejal Soni, Deputy Chief Executive’s Office