The Group Solicitor introduced the report of the Head of Legal and Member Services that presented a summary of the use of covert surveillance by the Council, to detect evidence of criminal behaviour, between 1 June and 1 November 2016. The report stated that since the meeting on 13 June 2016, the Council had obtained approval from a magistrate to use covert surveillance to detect suspected illegal fly tipping at a site in Wirral.

The Group Solicitor also informed that the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 came into force on 1 November 2012 and made the following changes to the law, that:

• a Magistrate's approval is required for a local authority’s use of RIPA - in addition to the authorisation needed from a senior officer and the more general oversight by elected councillors.

• use of RIPA to authorise directed surveillance is confined to cases where the offence under investigation carries a custodial sentence of six months imprisonment or more except in relation to underage sales of alcohol and tobacco, where this sentencing threshold will not apply.

The Group Solicitor further informed that annual training had taken place on 18 October 2016, conducted by Stephen Morris an acknowledged expert in this field. As a result a new paragraph 10 had been added to the policy and procedure guidance document that sets out the procedure to be followed if covert surveillance can only be authorised under the Data Protection Act 1998 and not under RIPA.

Resolved – That

1)  the report be noted; and

2)  the amendments and additions to the Policy and Guidance Document contained in Appendix 1 be approved.