To receive a report from the Assistant Director Regulatory and Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for RIPA.

The Chairman welcomed Christian Allen, Assistant Director - Regulatory  to provide an update on Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000, pages 219 to 226 of the Agenda refer.

Members were advised that the purpose of this report was to provide Audit and Governance Committee with an update on the Councils activities in respect of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 during the last 12 months, to ensure arrangements remain up to date, and to provide assurance that the Council's legal obligations were effectively managed.

The report also sought to update members on anticipated changes necessary to ELDC Policy and Procedures to reflect current guidance issued by the Home Office and the Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office (IPCO), which was the regulatory body that oversees compliance with RIPA by public bodies.

The Assistant Director – Regulatory advised members that ELDC were due a RIPA Audit in 2024, however this was deferred after briefing IPCO on the formation of the partnership and the intention to harmonise RIPA arrangements across all three councils. 

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

·         A Member queried if work was performed outside of the partnership, with external authorities and across borders. In response, the Assistant Director - Regulatory explained that work was carried out with partner agencies particularly the police and that the responsibilities for RIPA reside with each sovereign council. ELDC did not work with other councils outside borders, however common working arrangements and policy would allow work across borders within the partnership.

·         A Member further queried who the policy was targeting. In response, the Assistant Director – Regulatory advised that the policy framework governed the way the Council undertakes certain aspects of enforcement. It was exceptionally rare that as a local authority, powers such as covert directed surveillance were used and that was the same across the country.

·         The Chairman sought clarification on what was the key differences between ELDC’s and South Holland’s approaches. The Assistant Director – Regulatory advised there were no key differences as the approach was highly regulated and frequently audited by the IPCO to protect people’s human rights. It was reemphasised that the power was rarely used by district councils because of the nature of enforcement that was carried out.

·         A Member noted the there had been no RIPA relevant activity in the last twelve months and requested clarification on the level of activity.  In response, Assistant Director – Regulatory advised RIPA was infrequently used as it was extremely difficult to demonstrate that covert directed surveillance was proportionate when considering legislation. The Police would have more cause to use RIPA than a local authority.

·         A Member acknowledged that the level of demand was low and queried whether the Council dealt with RIPA regulations in the most cost-effective way. In response, Assistant Director – Regulatory advised that councils are obliged to comply with the regulations and undertake the processes involved. Working across the partnership to unite working arrangements was seen as a positive and best use of the resources available.  Although it was a relatively unused power, officers were fully aware of the requirements and were kept up to date through training and professional competency which was demonstrated when undertaking audit.

No further comments or questions were received.

The Chairman thanked the Assistant Director – Regulatory for their report.

Following which it was,

RESOLVED:

That the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 Update be noted.