Dear Sir or Madam,

In light of recent reports of use of RIPA powers by local councils
I would like to enquire as to the extent and scope of the use of
RIPA powers within Hackney council. I would therefore request the
following information:

*Details of the use of RIPA powers since the inception thereof by
Hackney Council to inlude (not exclusively) : who made the request,
the purpose thereof, the motivation for the request and date and
outcome of request.

* A current list of council employees that have authority to make a
RIPA request and under what circumstances.

Yours faithfully,

Richard McMillan

Dear Richard McMilan

Thank you for your FOI request. I wish to advise you that it is still
being investigated and therefore unfortunately we will not be able to
meet the 20 day response deadline. We hope to have a response to you
within the next 10 days.

I am sorry for the delay in response.

Debbie Hainsby
Customer Correspondence Manager
Neighbourhoods & Regeneration Directorate
0208 356 8269
email: [email address]

Hackney Council may exercise its right to intercept any communication with any employee or agent of the Council using its telephony or data networks. By using these networks you give your consent to Hackney Council monitoring and recording your communication.

If you have received this e-mail in error please delete it immediately and contact the sender.

For further information about Hackney Council policies please contact Hackney Service Centre on: 020 8356 3000

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Dear Mr McMillan

Thank you for your FOI request. We apologise that we have not been able
to respond to your request on time. This is because we are still in the
process of gathering the information. We will fully respond to your
request within the next 5 working days.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.

Thank you and Kind regards.

Aysha Mukhtar
Information Governance Officer

6-15 Florfield Road
London E8 1DT
Tel: 0208 356 4032
Fax: 0208 356 2598
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Aysha Mukhtar,

Thank you for the update. I realise that this is a rather onerous
request.

Yours sincerely,

Richard McMillan

Ref: LBH40465-08
27th August 2008

Dear Mr McMillan

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 - INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request received on 06
July 2008. You requested information on Use of the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act. Your request has now been considered and we
are able to partially meet your request. The information that we are
able to provide is enclosed.

Please note the information is still covered by copyright legislation.
You are not authorised to re-use this information for commercial or
research purposes as defined by the Re-Use of Public Sector Regulations
2005. If you do wish to re-use this information please contact the
Information Governance Team, 6-15 Florfield Road, Hackney London E8 1DT.

Detailed information relating to investigations carried our under RIPA
are exempt under s.30 (1), in that the information is held by us for the
purpose of conducting investigations which may lead the Council to
institute criminal proceedings. We have considered the Public Interest
in allowing public scrutiny in carrying out investigations. The release
of detailed information may potentially hinder future investigations and
this would not be in the public interest.

In relation to the power to use RIPA by the Council and its staff is
detailed in the legislation and associated code of practice. This
information is exempt under s.21 (1) of the Act- Information accessible
to applicant by other means- (1) Information which is reasonably
accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt
information.

Broadly speaking the Council has used RIPA powers for the purposes of-
* When carrying out underage sales of age restricted goods to
children,
* targeting of high Anti Social Behaviour within the Borough such
as; graffiti and vandalism,
* when illegally carrying out works on a vehicle on a public
highway in the course or the purpose of a business for gain or reward,
and
* for prevention and detection of crime.

The Council has to date invoked these powers 66 times since its
inception in 2004.

If you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to appeal, please
write to the Information Governance Team, Appeals, 6-15 Florfield Road,
Hackney London E8 1DTand your complaint will be dealt with through our
Internal Review procedure.

If you are still not satisfied following the Internal Review, you have a
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner. He can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Your enquiry is being dealt with through our FOI protocols rather than
as a media query. However, all correspondence is being shared with our
media team and any follow up questions, or requests for statements or
interviews should be directed to that office on 020 8356 3736.

Yours sincerely

Aysha Mukhtar
Information Governance Officer

6-15 Florfield Road
London E8 1DT
Tel: 0208 356 4032
Fax: 0208 356 2598
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Aysha Mukhtar,

I'd just like to ask if you would be so kind as to point out where
the list Hackney council officers authorised to use RIPA powers is
available.

Yours sincerely,

Richard

Dear Mr McMillan

I have forwarded your query to our legal department. I will get back to
you as soon as I hear from them.

Many thanks,

Aysha Mukhtar
Information Governance Officer

6-15 Florfield Road
London E8 1DT
Tel: 0208 356 4032
Fax: 0208 356 2598
Email: [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Mr McMillan

I am writing in response to your email to Aysha Mukhtar on 5th September.

The RIPA authorising Officers for London Borough of Hackney are Ade Obaye Head of Benefits Fraud, and Josile Munro Head of Environmental and Consumer Protection.

For more information in relation to public authority authorisation, please refer to the Statutory Instrument Order 2003 No. 3171 of the Act.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/uksi_20...

Please note the information is still covered by copyright legislation. You are not authorised to re-use this information for commercial or research purposes as defined by the Re-Use of Public Sector Regulations 2005. If you do wish to re-use this information please contact the Information Governance Team, 6-15 Florfield Road, Hackney London E8 1DT.

Your enquiry is being dealt with through our FOI protocols rather than as a media query. However, all correspondence is being shared with our media team and any follow up questions, or requests for statements or interviews should be directed to that office on 020 8356 3736.

Yours sincerely,

Zoë

Zoë Rowland
Corporate Information & Knowledge Manager
London Borough of Hackney
6-15 Florfield Road
Tel: 0208 356 2683
[mobile number]
[email address]

Hackney Council may exercise its right to intercept any communication with any employee or agent of the Council using its telephony or data networks. By using these networks you give your consent to Hackney Council monitoring and recording your communication.

If you have received this e-mail in error please delete it immediately and contact the sender.

For further information about Hackney Council policies please contact Hackney Service Centre on: 020 8356 3000

**********************************************************************
London Borough of Hackney may exercise its right to intercept any communication on its networks - for more information see
http://www.hackney.gov.uk/email_disclaim...
**********************************************************************