Councils urged to reduce snooping

Town hall leaders were warned by the head of the Local Government Association (LGA) they risked alienating the public and being stripped of the right to use spying methods.

But he defended councils that used surveillance to tackle fly tippers, rogue traders and tax and benefit fraudsters.

Sir Simon Milton's missive came amid growing anger at the extent to which the powers - ranging from physical observation to the checks on telephone and internet records - are used by local authorities.

The cross-party LGA, which represents councils nationally, is now responding out of concern that the actions of certain authorities are making life difficult for all councils.

The powers were introduced under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act as part of the Government's anti-terror drive.

Sir Simon has now written to every council in the country urging them to review their use of the Act and repeat it annually.

"Parliament clearly intended that councils should use the new powers, and generally they are being used to respond to residents' complaints about fly tippers, rogue traders and those defrauding the council tax or housing benefit system," he wrote. "Time and again, these are just the type of crimes that residents tell us that they want to see tackled.

Sir Simon specifically named dog fouling and littering as two offences in which the RIP Act powers were not "necessary and proportionate".

"Whilst it is a matter for each council to determine for its area, our advice is that, save in the most unusual and extreme of circumstances, it is inappropriate to use these powers for trivial matters," he added.