Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many technical capability notices her Department has issued under s.253 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 in each year, not including the notice rejected by Apple.

For reasons of national security, it has been a long-standing position that the Government does not confirm or deny compliance of operators given a notice under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. We also do not publish the number of technical capability notices issued or release identities of those subject to a technical capability notice. To do so may identify operational capabilities or harm the commercial interests of companies.