Steve McCabe
Main Page: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)
I am very happy to look at this matter. The hon. Gentleman asks a fair question and I am happy to have a discussion with him about it once the Bill becomes law.
Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)
The Secretary of State is on record as saying that councils that flout the law in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 should face justice, so why have 27 local authorities spent millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on flouting the law by employing private investigators to conduct unauthorised surveillance operations?
Mr Pickles
I believe the law has been changed. These powers can be secured only on application to a magistrate. If an application to a magistrate has not been made, the law has been broken and criminal sanctions will apply.