HC Deb 04 December 1997 vol 302 cc301-2W
Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) civilian and (b) non-civilian staff have been employed within GCHQ for each year from 1980. [18916]

Mr. Robin Cook

It is not our policy to provide detailed information on the staffing of the Intelligence and Security Services.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if GCHQ is required to apply for warrants each time it wishes to intercept overseas telegrams. [18690]

Mr. Robin Cook

GCHQ obtains a warrant wherever necessary as required by the Interception of Communications Act 1985.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions since 1987 GCHQ has been involved in the surveillance of party political conferences. [18702]

Mr. Robin Cook

The Intelligence Services Act 1994 requires the Director of GCHQ to ensure that GCHQ does not take any action to further the interests of any UK political party. This was established policy even before the Act was passed. On a number of occasions GCHQ has provided advice and assistance to the police present at such conferences on the security of their communications, at their request and also as provided for under the Act. But GCHQ has not been involved in the surveillance of party political conferences.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if CCHQ is permitted to undertake(a) telephone tapping and (b) other interceptions of communications where the terminal points of the communication are both in Great Britain [18686]

Mr. Robin Cook

GCHQ's functions are set out in Section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994. Communications which GCHQ is permitted to intercept under the authority of a warrant are set out in section 2 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the range of responsibilities currently discharged by GCHQ. [18917]

Mr. Robin Cook

The responsibilities of GCHQ are set out in Section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance has been given to employees at GCHQ in respect of the Data Protection Act 1984. [18688]

Mr. Robin Cook

All staff were informed in 1986 that personal data held by GCHQ are exempt from operative parts of the Data Protection Act 1984 because that exemption is required for the purpose of safeguarding national security. The guidance said that the spirit of the Act would be applied so far as serving staff members were concerned, in that they would be given access to personal data held on data bases in the same way as they would have been had the Act been in force.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff who were members of a union were seconded from(a) the DTI and (b) other departments to work in GCHQ Cheltenham during the period that a union ban was in place. [18691]

Mr. Robin Cook

GCHQ estimates that about 10 people were seconded from other Government Departments to GCHQ between 1984 and 1997. It is not believed that any of these were from the DTI. GCHQ has no record of their union membership.