Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Interception of Communications Commissioner and (b) the Information Commissioner on the adequacy of existing privacy safeguards and proposals for new communications data legislation.

As my Right Honourable Friend, the Home Secretary, said in her statement to the House on 11 June (Col 1354), the Government will need to give further consideration to the detail of both David Anderson’s recommendations and those in the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report published in March, which collectively provide a firm basis for consultation on legislation. The Government will publish a draft bill in the Autumn for pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee of Parliament, with the intention of introducing a Bill early in the New Year. The Home Office has regular contact with the offices of both the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Information Commissioner in relation to their statutory oversight responsibilities, which include the adequacy of existing safeguards and how they could be improved. The Interception of Communications Commissioner published his response to the David Anderson report on 11 June 2015 and has contributed to both the David Anderson and the Intelligence and Security Committee’s Privacy and Security Review.