Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he had with the Scottish Government before the appointment of the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner in 2017.

The appointment of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner is subject to a statutory process set out in section 227 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The Prime Minister must appoint a person who holds or has held high judicial office, and the candidate must be recommended jointly by the Lord Chancellor, (b) the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, (c) the Lord President of the Court of Session, and (d) the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

Section 227(5) of the Act provides that the Prime Minster must consult with Scottish Ministers before making the appointment. In 2017, the Prime Minister wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice within the Scottish Government about the proposed appointment of the first Commissioner.