Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for publication of her Department's response to the consultation on the Investigatory Powers Act Codes of Practice; and if she will make a statement.

The Public consultation on five codes of practice issued under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 took place over a six week period earlier this year, ending on 6 April.

As with the unprecedented levels of scrutiny the Act itself received during its passage through Parliament, the statutory consultation played a vital role in the development of these codes of practice, and the Government is grateful to those who took the time to respond to the consultation. The codes provide information and guidance to those public authorities able to exercise powers under the Investigatory Powers Act, and will ensure the powers are used in the intended manner.

The Government’s response to the consultation and the regulations bringing these codes into force will be laid before Parliament in due course. They will then be subject to scrutiny by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, and will then be debated in Parliament.