COUNCILS in East Lancashire have used powers to spy on residents suspected of wrongdoing hundreds of times in the past 10 years.

But Burnley Council is the only one to have used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to snoop on its own staff.

The regulation was brought in in 2000 and allowed council bosses to carry out surveillance on residents they suspected of committing crimes.

The vast majority of uses of the act relate to offences such as benefit fraud, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

Bosses at Burnley Council used the legislation to monitor staff behaviour up until 2007, before changing their policy.

In 2001 they used covert surveillance cameras to monitor instances of thefts within council buildings, and in the same year directly observed movements on and off the town hall car park to see whether the council’s flexi-time system was being abused.

In 2005 it was used three times to see if a council employee was using council facilities in work time, such as making personal phone calls to avoid payment.

On two occasions they have snooped on staff near to their home to check if they were genuinely off sick or were working for a third party.

And in 2006 they set up an observation to see if a council employee was using the gym and showers whilst clocked in.

A Burnley Council spokesman said: “The vast majority of cases where we have used RIPA authorisations were to tackle noise nuisance, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and benefit fraud – all things we know our residents want us to sort out.

“Burnley Council is one of the best at bringing offenders before the courts. Out of nearly 200 occasions when we have used surveillance in the last 10 years, only a handful of cases related to staff dishonesty.

“We have not used RIPA powers in staff investigations for several years, following clarification of the law by the courts elsewhere in the country.

“Next year, the law changes and councils will need to get the approval of a magistrate before carrying out surveillance. We are looking at our procedures to make sure we can respond to the new system effectively.”

Lancashire County Council used the act 792 times since 2000, although the majority of those were requests for communications data from telephone companies in relation to investigations.

Phil Halsall, chief executive, said: “Lancashire County Council only carries out activity which must be authorised under RIPA when absolutely necessary and primarily for the benefit of the people of Lancashire.

“This is mainly Trading Standards work to gather evidence to prosecute rogue traders. Strong evidence is essential to stop people who sell counterfeit goods and doorstep salespeople who intimidate and exploit vulnerable people.”

Hyndburn Borough Council used it 223 times, all relating to criminal investigations, Burnley Borough Council 194 times and Blackburn with Darwen Council 111 times.

Rossendale Borough Council (77 occasions) and Pendle Borough Council (48 occasions) mostly used the powers to monitor housing nuisance and benefit fraud, while Ribbley Valley Borough Council used it just 25 times, and nearly all for dog fouling prosecutions.