Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Technical Capability Notices and (b) National Security Notices have been issued in each year since 2016.

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 allows the Government to place obligations on telecommunications operators or postal operators through a Technical Capability Notice or National Security Notice.

The Act governs these notices and provides extensive privacy safeguards and a robust oversight regime, including approval of notices by an independent Judicial Commissioner.

For reasons of national security, it would be not be appropriate to disclose the number of Technical Capability Notices and National Security Notices issued.