Jane Fae Ozimek reports:
Government officials hit back at accusations last week that they were encouraging councils to break the law and snoop on local residents, claiming instead that not only are they entitled to do so, but that they are required to by law.
A report in last week’s Sunday Express pillories local councils for acting unlawfully and misusing the DVLA database to check up on residents suspected of offences – including horse fouling, littering and owning out-of-control dogs – that have nothing to do with motoring.
As a result, they claim, several councils have been banned from accessing the database.
A little checking suggests that the two events are completely unrelated, and that councils’ use of the database in this way is a policy actively advocated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Read more in The Register.