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Anti-terror law used to spy on council cleaners
Anti-terror snooping laws were used by council chiefs – to check up on their cleaners, the Evening Post can reveal.
Some contract cleaners employed at County Hall were investigated after being accused of not working enough hours.
In a response to a Freedom of Information question, bosses admitted using the controversial powers because of the "unsatisfactory cleaning of a building".
Surveillance – using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) – was carried out twice in 2007 and 2008.
A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said a manager was asked to "monitor the comings and goings" of cleaning staff after it was alleged they were claiming more hours than they were working.
But on both occasions the allegations turned out to be false.
The council used RIPA nearly 500 times from 2001 to 2008.
That includes mystery shopper surveillance on bus routes – to make sure buses were running the routes they should have – and checking bus operators were claiming to the council for the right journeys when pensioners used their bus passes.
Again, neither investigations turned up any evidence of any wrongdoing.
A spokesman for the council said the cleaning staff and bus
drivers were "not snooped upon and there was no filming".
But the disclosures, unveiled under the Freedom of Information Act, today sparked fresh anger over whether the legislation is being used properly.
Preston Lib Dem Coun Mark Jewell, who uncovered the information, said: "It is a complete abuse of the powers.
"It says something about the culture there when they have got to spy on their own people.
"I would have thought the management and leadership at County Hall would have been strong enough to deal with this themselves."
James Welch, of civil liberties group Liberty, said: "It is clear that many councils have been using these powers in circumstances that do not warrant them."
County Hall revealed its RIPA policy was updated in 2008 after Government inspectors recommended limitations on use to crime-related investigations.
RIPA has mostly been used by Lancashire County Council's trading standards service in investigations relating to counterfeit goods (at least 84 times), monitoring rip-off doorstep sellers (76 times) and under the Trade Descriptions Act (205 times).
It has also been used seven times to monitor people who have made personal injury claims and 16 times to monitor suspected sale of pornographic videos.
A spokesman for the council said: "We have to make sure we get value for money on our contracts.
"When we do these inquiries we don't do them for trivial matters, there could be fraud involved and we owe it to taxpayers to make sure their money is spent wisely."
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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