Don't mind me, I'm from the council

There are currently 1,043 laws that allow unrestricted access to your home, without your consent. Many are to do with public health and safety and seem common sense however a growing number aren't.
For instance....

• To see if pot plants have plant pests or do not have a `plant passport' (Plant Health Order 2005). 
• To  check  the  energy  ratings  on  refrigerators  (Energy  Information  Household  Refrigerators  and Freezers Regulations 2004).
• Surveying the home and garden to see if hedges are too high (Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003).
• Inspecting a property to ensure illegal or unregulated hypnotism is not taking place (Hypnotism Act 1952)

Spying on the public seems to be an obsession with public officials these days, what with the RIPA act where councils have used provisions to spy on recycling bin filling or on school catchment area applications. ID cards, cctv even the height of your hedges. Registered snoopers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is legal and occasionally what isn't.
It's reckoned that every council has about 47 people who can simply stroll into your house without your permission. 2 years ago Gordon Brown pledged to review the power of councils to enter people’s homes without warrant. Never happened of course, it rarely does with this sort of legislation. The Tories have also made vague promises too, but nothing has been written down yet.

Alex Deane, Director of Big Brother Watch, said:

“Once, a man’s home was his castle. Today the Big Brother state wants to inspect, regulate and standardise the inside of our homes.
"Councils are dishing out powers of entry to officers within their council for their own ease, without giving due thought to the public’s right to privacy and the potential for abuse.
"There needs to be a much closer eye kept on the number of officers granted the right to barge into private premises without a warrant.” 

He's right, we aren't the ones who need watching, it's those who think they have a right to watch us who need pruning back and kept an eye on.