THE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY
COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT
The Rt Hon. Sir Julian Lewis MP (Chairman)
The Rt Hon. Maria Eagle MP (from 10 February 2022)
The Rt Hon. Sir John Hayes CBE MP
The Rt Hon. Stewart Hosie MP (until 14 December 2022)
The Rt Hon. Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP (until 14 January 2022)
The Rt Hon. Kevan Jones MP
The Rt Hon. Mark Pritchard MP (until 22 January 2022)
Colonel The Rt Hon. Bob Stewart DSO MP
The Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers MP
Admiral The Rt Hon. Lord West of Spithead GCB DSC PC
The Rt Hon. Sir Jeremy Wright KC MP (from 10 February 2022)
The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) is a statutory committee of Parliament that has responsibility for oversight of the UK Intelligence Community. The Committee was originally established by the Intelligence Services Act 1994 and was reformed, and its powers reinforced, by the Justice and Security Act 2013.
The Committee oversees the intelligence and security activities of the Agencies,[1] including the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of MI5 (the Security Service), MI6 (the Secret Intelligence Service or SIS) and GCHQ (the Government Communications Headquarters). The Committee also scrutinises the work of other parts of the Intelligence Community, including the Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO) and the National Security Secretariat (NSS) in the Cabinet Office; Defence Intelligence (DI) in the Ministry of Defence; and Homeland Security Group[2] in the Home Office.
The Committee consists of nine Members drawn from both Houses of Parliament. Members are appointed by the Houses of Parliament, having been nominated by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. The Chair of the Committee is elected by its Members.
The Members of the Committee are subject to section 1(1)(b) of the Official Secrets Act 1989 and are routinely given access to highly classified material in carrying out their duties. The Committee sets its own agenda and work programme, taking evidence from Government Ministers, the Heads of the intelligence and security Agencies, senior officials, experts and academics as required. Its Inquiries tend to concentrate on current events and issues of concern, and therefore focus on operational[3] and policy matters, while its Annual Reports address administration and finance.
The reports can contain highly classified material, which would damage the operational capabilities of the intelligence Agencies if it were published. There is therefore a well-established and lengthy process to prepare the Committee's Reports ready for publication. The
- ↑ Throughout the report, the term 'Intelligence Community' is used to refer to the seven organisations that the Committee oversees; the term 'Agencies' refers to MI5, SIS and GCHQ as a collective; and the term 'Departments' refers to the intelligence and security parts of the Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office and the Home Office (DI, JIO, National Security Adviser (NSA), NSS and Homeland Security Group) as a collective, unless specified otherwise.
- ↑ From 1 April 2021, the Home Office moved to a new structure "based around missions and capabilities". Homeland Security Group (one of the new missions) comprises what was formerly known as the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT), along with three departments from the Serious Organised Crime Group (Economic Crime, Cyber Policy and the Serious Organised Crime Capability Team).
- ↑ The Committee oversees operations subject to the criteria set out in section 2 of the Justice and Security Act 2013.
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