146
Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Annual Report 2019
Figure 34: Bulk warrants and renewals by type66
30
10
101
18
Bulk interception
Bulk equipment interference
Bulk communications data aquisition
Bulk personal data – specific
Bulk personal data – class
85
Consolidated Guidance
19.19
In our 2018 Annual Report, we set out the difficulties associated with publishing clear,
reliable statistics about UKIC/MOD’s use of the Consolidated Guidance. Many of the
problems highlighted in our previous report persist: for instance, it is not possible to
publish a reliable figure on the number of times the Consolidated Guidance was considered
by UKIC/MOD because of the way in which records are maintained by them and the
associated risk of “double counting”. As we noted in our 2018 report, the available statistics
cover the number of times administrative processes relating to the internal policies for
applying the Consolidated Guidance had been exercised, not the number of cases engaging
the Consolidated Guidance which had been considered.
19.20
However, we have now identified a set of statistics which give some sense of UKIC/
MOD’s use of the Consolidated Guidance in practice. The table below sets out the total
number of cases in which UKIC/MOD referred to Ministers for a decision because there
was a serious risk of one of the categories of mistreatment (torture, for example) set out
in the Consolidated Guidance. They also include the number of cases which UKIC/MOD
proactively brought to our attention because they raised particular legal or policy issues –
some of which have informed the findings presented in this report.
19.21
There are important caveats to the data presented here. First, an increase in cases which
cross the threshold of serious risk (in the Consolidated Guidance) or real risk (in The
Principles) does not, necessarily, indicate that UKIC/MOD have taken additional risks in
their engagement with overseas authorities. A single operation (such as, in response to a
major terrorist plot) may generate a “spike” in referrals to Ministers, for example. As such,
it will not be possible to conduct a straightforward year on year analysis of these figures
to determine whether or not the overall level of risk associated with the application of the
Consolidated Guidance has increased. Similarly, a reduction in the number of cases does
not necessarily suggest a lower risk appetite has been adopted.
19.22
Second, as the Consolidated Guidance makes clear, consulting Ministers does not imply that
action will or will not be authorised, and the UK Government’s clear stated policy is that the
66 This figure was given incorrectly in our 2018 Annual Report. Three warrants for bulk equipment
interference were authorised in 2018.