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Due to essential maintenance, the following systems will be unavailable from 6.00pm on Monday 2 October until 8.00am on Tuesday 3 October: our online council tax, business rates and housing benefit services, and our welfare assistance form. You will also not be able to register to pay council tax online, make a change of address for council tax or cancel single person discount. You are still able to make a payment during this time. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000


This page explains our use of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and provides information about the type of RIPA authorisations which have been granted. It also includes contact information for outside bodies which regulate RIPA.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and subsequent orders regulate the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covers the interception of communications.

We use these powers for the prevention and detection of crimes such as flytipping, sales of counterfeit goods and underage sales of alcohol and tobacco.

The powers used by the Council in respect of RIPA are reported to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on a quarterly basis. 

Useful contacts

You can find further guidance and information on RIPA from the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office or by contacting them directly.

Information is also available from the: