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Investigatory Powers Commissioner ’s Annual Report 2019
19. Statistics
Overview
19.1
We collect a range of statistics to inform our understanding of how investigatory powers are
being used across the country. This is a complex and time-consuming exercise each year,
both for the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO) and for the organisations
we oversee. We are in the process of reviewing the way we collect information and hope
that we will shortly be able to introduce changes which both streamline the process and
ensure that the information we produce is as reliable as it can be.
19.2
We have selected statistics for publication which we believe will give an accurate picture
of the extent to which the different categories of authority that we oversee are using their
powers, and to which specific powers are used. The context within which they are being
used, and our findings from recent oversight, are given in the previous chapters. Where
possible, we have sought to present statistics in the same format as our previous report
to enable comparisons to be drawn, however, the authorities we oversee continue to
be in a period of transition which means that in some cases statistics will not present a
like-for-like comparison.
19.3
As we have noted in other chapters, we are challenged every year on the value of the
statistics we publish. We welcome this challenge, which will help us continue to improve
the level of transparency we offer to Parliament and the public through our report. As an
organisation, we are committed to ensuring that we do not provide statistics which would
be partial or misleading, as well as those which could cause any damage to the ongoing
operations of the authorities we oversee and to national security. For this reason, we
provide limited statistics in relation to the functions of the intelligence agencies, where we
would not be able to give sufficient contextual detail to enable those figures to be analysed
effectively by readers. It is also worth noting here that while we do collect statistics, we do
not take a structured or statistically-driven approach to oversight, which we believe is best
conducted on the basis of compliance risk and areas of clear public interest.
19.4
With this in mind, this chapter provides statistics on the use of covert powers by the
authorities we oversee, including those required to be published in this report under
section 23460 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA).
19.5
Due to the impact of COVID-19, IPCO had not received statistical returns from ten local
authorities and one wider public authority by 30 June 2020. These authorities are all
low users of investigatory powers and analysis of their returns for 2018 shows that their
exclusion from this year’s statistics will not have a material effect on their accuracy.
60 Section 234 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 requests the publication of key statistics, including the
number of warrants and authorisations issued, given, considered and approved during the year.