Noisy neighbours may be protected by new law to stop council snooping

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/nov/04/noisy-neighbours-council-law

Version 0 of 1.

A new law to stop councils using counter-terrorism powers to snoop on people is thwarting efforts to tackle noisy neighbours, according to environmental health experts.

The Protection of Freedoms Act, which became law last Thursday, was introduced in response to concerns that local authorities were misusing the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) to mount surveillance and investigation operations.

Revelations that councils had spied on homeowners putting out their bins and parents flouting school catchment area regulations prompted widespread concerns that Ripa, which was primarily intended as an anti-terrorism measure, was being exploited.

The new act means councils must now apply to a magistrate before they can launch surveillance operations. According to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), that means that monitoring sound levels without the consent of the householder concerned will have to be approved by a magistrate after a fee has been paid. It claims that Home Office officials have admitted that "some" noise pollution investigations will be subject to the new law.

"The new law is going to go one of two ways," said Howard Price, principal policy officer with the CIEH. "Either local authorities will stop investigating complaints or they will ignore Ripa, which is not satisfactory. We don't like to ignore the law. It's not a good position for public bodies to be in."

The institute claims the act was introduced in a hurry and will protect the freedoms of noise-makers at the expense of householders who want a peaceful night's sleep. It said the "additional controls are neither justified nor in the public interest", and pointed out that last year the Home Office minister James Brokenshire admitted to parliament that there was no evidence that noise investigations were being carried out inappropriately.

Noise is the largest cause of complaints to local authorities. As many as 450,000 complaints are investigated each year by councils. Neighbour noise complaints comprise around two thirds of the total.

The Home Office insists the new laws apply only when public authorities obtain private information covertly, when it is necessary, proportionate and in line with people's right to privacy. As a result it believes noise pollution investigations will usually fall outside the scope of the act.