Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure there is independent scrutiny of Technical Capability Notices; and if she will introduce new (a) judicial and (b) parliamentary oversight.

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 allows the Secretary of State to place obligations on telecommunications operators or postal operators through a Technical Capability Notice. A Technical Capability Notice itself does not require an operator to disclose any information. Instead, it requires the operator to have the capability to respond to an individual warrant or authorisation.

The Act governs these notices and provides extensive privacy safeguards and a robust oversight regime. Technical Capability Notices must be approved by an independent Judicial Commissioner. The procedures for the judicial oversight of Technical Capability Notices are detailed in the codes of practice for Communications Data, Interception of Communications, and Equipment Interference, which are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/investigatory-powers-act-codes-of-practice

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner must report annually on the carrying out of the functions of the Judicial Commissioner, with the report laid before Parliament.

The Act also provides for the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament to refer a matter to the Commissioner with a view to carrying out an investigation, inspection or audit.

The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 strengthened judicial oversight by introducing a requirement that existing technical capability notices are renewed if two years have passed since they were given, varied or last renewed. These renewals also require the approval of a Judicial Commissioner. The Government is currently implementing this Act.