Government plans to curb council 'snooping' has sparked calls for caution against Draconian measures which may leave local authorities impotent.Home secretary, Jacqui Smith, has launched a consultation on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) with a view to reform, as demanded by the Tories and lib Dems.She said: 'I don't want to see these powers being used to target people for putting their bins out on the wrong day or for dog-fouling offences.'It follows a string of exposes inwhich councils were found to have used surveillance for possible minor offences such as fraudulent school applications.But think-tank, the New Local Government Network (NLGN), has urged the Government not to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' as it damps down on council surveillance powers.
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