§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Prime Minister what was the cost in (i) 1995–96 and (ii) 1996–97 of operating the(a) Interception of Communications Tribunal and(b) Security Service Tribunal; how many cases have been dealt with by each of these bodies during these periods; and in how many cases complaints have been upheld by the tribunals involved. [19381]
§ The Prime MinisterThe available information is as follows. The outturn for expenditure in 1995–96 for the tribunals and commissioners appointed under the Interception of Communications Act 1985, the Security Service Act 1989 and the Intelligence Services Act 1994 is £47,000. The provision for 1996–97 is £67,000. The Interception of Communications Tribunal completed investigation of 63 complaints in the calendar year 1995 and 34 in 1996. In the same periods, the Security Service Tribunal completed investigation of 25 and 26 complaints respectively. On no occasion did the Interception of Communications Tribunal conclude that sections 2 to 5 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985 had been contravened. The Security Service Tribunal made no determination in favour of a complainant.