Agenda item

The City Barrister and Head of Standards submits the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

Bi-Annual Performance Report July 2024 – December 2024 to the Governance and Audit Committee.

The Governance and Audit Committee is recommended to:

·         Receive the Report and note its contents.

·         Approve the proposed amendments to the Council’s Surveillance Policy.

·         Make any recommendations or comments it sees fit either to the Executive or to the City Barrister and Head of Standards.

The City Barrister and Head of Standards submitted the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) Bi-Annual Performance Report July 2024 – December 2024 to the Governance and Audit Committee. The Principal Lawyer presented the report.

Points highlighted included:

• There had been no use of RIPA since the last update and no access to communications data.
• The Council had been inspected by the Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office (IPCO) as was due every three years. This was a paper-based exercise, and questions had been responded to. The outcome had been positive. Recommendations were made for minor amendments to the Council’s Surveillance Policy. But they were satisfied with the Council’s compliance and the next inspection would be in 2028.
• The proposed amendments to the Surveillance Policy were noted in the report.
• In the final recommendations from the IPCO, it was recommended that the Council continues to train its staff on RIPA. This is primarily due to the risk factor that staff may engage in activity that may fall under RIPA without being aware.
• Other assurances were set out in the report.

Members sought further clarification and raised the below points:

• In response to a query around how RIPA was reported and what constituted covert surveillance, it was reiterated that the report stated that there were no authorisations for direct surveillance or communications data between July and December 2024.  However, the need to awareness and training was recognised so as to ensure officers understand the legal boundaries on what is and is not permitted under RIPA.  It was further clarified that if people were made aware that they were under surveillance, it did not fall under the scope of RIPA.
• It was confirmed that external trainer would be engaged to deliver. training. This would include the use of case studies, both fictional and those from legal cases/case law to improve understanding
• Examples of situations where RIPA could be used included trading standards, whereby officers could go under-cover in workplaces.  While test purchases could typically be done without RIPA authorisation, if the operation involved covert surveillance, it would fall under the remit of RIPA.
• In response to a query on surveillance of Council houses, the Principal Lawyer advised that they were not aware of any such cases, However, but it was acknowledged that it was necessary to be mindful that any covert or undercover activity relating to Council houses would be subject to RIPA requirements.  Regarding Right to Buy applications, checks were carried out by the Council to confirm the source of funds and the identity of the purchaser, but these checks are not conducted covertly and are not considered surveillance and therefore do not fall under RIPA.
• In response to a query about potential uses of RIPA, it was suggested following the upcoming training, opportunities to use RIPA more effectively could be explored. An update on this could be included in the August update.

RESOLVED

The Governance and Audit Committee:

•      Received the Report and note its contents.

•      Approved the proposed amendments to the Council’s Surveillance Policy.

•      Made recommendations or comments it sees fit either to the Executive or to the City Barrister and Head of Standards.