Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner - March 2015
•
•
otherwise confidential information (e.g. confidential journalistic, or confidential
medical) have been intercepted and retained, and any cases where a lawyer is
the subject of an investigation;
an investigation of the procedures in place for the retention, storage and
destruction of intercepted material and related communications data;
a review of the errors reported, including checking that the measures put in
place to prevent recurrence are sufficient.
6.47 After each inspection my office compiles a detailed inspection report and action
plan stating the findings and recommendations. This is sent to the head of the interception
agency and is copied to the relevant Secretary of State and Warrant Granting Department
(WGD).
6.48 My office’s inspections of the four main WGDs have a slightly different emphasis.
The WGDs undertake an important function which is comparable to the guardian and
gatekeeper role performed by the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) for communications
data applications under Chapter II of Part I of RIPA 2000. WGDs are a source of
independent advice to the Senior Official and Secretary of State and perform a valuable
pre-authorisation scrutiny of warrant applications and renewals to ensure that they are
(and remain) necessary and proportionate. The emphasis during the WGD inspections
is on the integrity of the authorisation process and the level of challenge applied to
the warrants by the Secretaries of State and their Senior Officials. Last year my office
introduced inspection reports and action plans for the WGDs which are also shared with
the relevant Secretary of State.
6.49 Inspection Reports. My office’s reports contain formal recommendations with a
requirement for the interception agency or WGD to inform my office within two months
on what progress has been made. The inspection reports contain operational detail
which, under the terms of section 19(4) of RIPA, I may not disclose in detail. However, in
general terms the reports include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
an assessment of how far the recommendations from the previous inspection
have been achieved;
a summary of the number and type of interception documents selected for
examination, including a detailed list of those warrants;
detailed comments on all warrants selected for further scrutiny and discussion
during the inspection;
an assessment of the errors reported to my office during the inspection period;
an account of the examination of the retention, storage and destruction
procedures;
an account of other policy or operational issues which the agency or WGD
raised with my office during the inspection;
a number of recommendations aimed at improving compliance and
performance generally;
www.iocco-uk.info
29