Enforcement

Powers of inspection, etc.
17
1
An authorised officer of a local authority entering premises under section 13, or by virtue of a warrant issued under section 14 or 15, may do any of the following if the officer considers it necessary for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence under section 2 has been committed—
a
carry out inspections and examinations on the premises;
b
require the production of anything on the premises, inspect it, and take and retain samples of or extracts from it;
c
take possession of anything on the premises, and retain it for as long as the officer considers necessary for that purpose;
d
require any person to give information, or afford facilities and assistance with respect to matters within the person’s control.
2
If the authorised officer considers it necessary for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence under section 2 has been committed, the officer may arrange for anything produced under subsection (1)(b), or of which the officer has taken possession under subsection (1)(c), to be analysed.
3
If by virtue of subsection (1)(c) an authorised officer takes possession of anything, the officer must leave on the premises from which it was taken a statement—
a
giving particulars of what has been taken and stating that the officer has taken possession of it, and
b
identifying the person to whom a request for the return of the property may be made.
4
The powers conferred by this section include the power—
a
to copy documents found on the premises;
b
to impose requirements as to how documents are provided (which may include requirements to provide legible copies of documents found on the premises that are stored electronically).
5
For this purpose, “documents” includes information recorded in any form; and references to documents found on the premises include—
a
documents stored on computers or other electronic devices on the premises, and
b
documents stored elsewhere that can be accessed by computers or other electronic devices on the premises.
6
A person is not required by this section to answer any question or produce any document which the person would be entitled to refuse to answer or produce in or for the purposes of proceedings in a court in England and Wales.