Council spies in the bedroom rapped

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People claiming the single person's discount (SPD), which cuts 25% off the council tax bill of households with only one adult, are being pressured into signing a declaration allowing inspectors to check their status and access their property.

The "wholly disproportionate" powers would mean people losing the benefit, which can be worth hundreds of pounds, unless they allow officials into their bedrooms to check they are actually single, shadow communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles said.

But the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) dismissed Mr Pickles' claims as "utter nonsense" and designed to frighten vulnerable and elderly people.

DCLG guidance states that appointments should be made before inspections, but also encourages councils to carry out "spot checks" on people claiming the SPD.

A letter sent to residents seeking the SPD by Thurrock Council, where the Tories are the largest party, requires them to "authorise the council or its agents to make enquiries to corroborate this claim" and "permit the council or its agents to inspect the property on request".

The Conservatives believe other authorities are being forced into introducing similar requirements as a result of pressure from Whitehall.

Mr Pickles said: "Day by day under Labour, the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens are being undermined, with more and more state officials trying to enter and spy on people's homes.

"It may be appropriate for local authorities to check that council tax discounts are not wrongly claimed. But it is wholly disproportionate to threaten higher council tax bills if residents do not allow state officials into their bedrooms.

"This is another worrying sign of function creep. State duties originally intended to tackle fraud are now being over-used by bureaucrats in a heavy-handed, intrusive manner. I fear such state intrusion is a sign of things to come, with an army of bureaucrats currently being trained to enter homes across the country for Gordon Brown's council tax revaluation."