Agenda item

RESOLVED:  1)         That the attached revised policy, produced from scratch following the last IPCO inspection to reflect the comments of the inspector, and through consultation with a professional training and policy development provider be agreed.

2)    That as per section 5.2 of the policy the Council will report its use, or non-use of these powers to the Corporate Performance Panel in line with the guidance provided by IPCO to enable members to determine the effectiveness of the RIPA policy each year.

3)    That any minor amendments (such as formatting, layout, amendments to Appendix A roles and officers assigned to roles) to be a delegated decision with liaison with a member / portfolio holder as decided by this Cabinet.

4)    That any relevant or serious errors highlighted contrary to this policy MUST be reported to IPCO and furthermore it is recommended any such occurrences are fed into the Annual Governance Statement.

5)    That delegated Authority is granted to the Assistant Director for Legal Services in consultation with the Leader to make any amendments to the policy as recommended by IPCO.

6)    That training be carried out for officers and members on the subject.

Reason for Decision

To ensure compliance with current legislation, to replace the previous policy which has become out of date and does not provide sufficient or up to date information / details to officers or members of the public on the full requirements for RIPA and Non-RIPA

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Cabinet considered a report which explained that the Council was governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, Human Rights Act, Protection of Freedom Act, Data Protection Act/GDPR, and Investigatory Powers Act in respect of surveillance and other related activities.  The Council was inspected on these matters (usually every 3 years) and were last inspected on Friday 17^th December 2021 by IPCO (the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office).

It was noted that even if the Council did not use the powers available, it must ensure its policies and procedures were fit for purpose and robust to assist in remaining compliant with the legislation, and furthermore enable the council to demonstrate this to IPCO.

Some further areas for inclusion within the policy were highlighted by IPCO during the inspection, a consultation process had been undertaken with a professional trainer and policy development provider to produce a fresh RIPA policy, and Internet and Social Media Research Code of Practice, as well as a robust set of procedures and guidance materials to sit behind the policy (these procedures were in the process of being finalised as part of the consultation process).

The current policy did not include:

·         Surveillance outside of RIPA (Non-RIPA), this was usually where crime thresholds for RIPA purposes are not met.

·         Details in respect of the recording, retaining and destruction of materials (private information).

Training would be provided to key members of staff identified as holding roles under this policy, as well as training to be delivered to staff  identified as having the potential to undertake activities referred to under this policy and its procedures.

There was a need to reference this policy in other policies, including the Corporate Records & Retention Policy, The Disciplinary procedures and the attached new Internet and Social Media Investigations and Research Code of Practice.

In debating the item Cabinet members asked that training on the subject also be provided for members.  This was agreed.

RESOLVED:  1)         That the attached revised policy, produced from scratch following the last IPCO inspection to reflect the comments of the inspector, and through consultation with a professional training and policy development provider be agreed.

2)    That as per section 5.2 of the policy the Council will report its use, or non-use of these powers to the Corporate Performance Panel in line with the guidance provided by IPCO to enable members to determine the effectiveness of the RIPA policy each year.

3)    That any minor amendments (such as formatting, layout, amendments to Appendix A roles and officers assigned to roles) to be a delegated decision with liaison with a member / portfolio holder as decided by this Cabinet.

4)    That any relevant or serious errors highlighted contrary to this policy MUST be reported to IPCO and furthermore it is recommended any such occurrences are fed into the Annual Governance Statement.

5)    That delegated Authority is granted to the Assistant Director for Legal Services in consultation with the Leader to make any amendments to the policy as recommended by IPCO.

6)    That training be carried out for officers and members on the subject.

Reason for Decision

To ensure compliance with current legislation, to replace the previous policy which has become out of date and does not provide sufficient or up to date information / details to officers or members of the public on the full requirements for RIPA and Non-RIPA