§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister how many complaints to the Security Services Tribunal under section 5 of the Security Service Act 1989 have been upheld in each year since the inception of the Act. [13779]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Security Service Tribunal has made no determination in favour of a complaint since its inception. The annual reports of the Security Service Commissioner which cover the work of the Tribunal are available in the Library.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister if he will amend the terms of reference of the Security Services Tribunal(a) to give reasons for its failure to make a determination in favour of a particular applicant and (b) to allow an applicant the opportunity to verify and correct information under consideration. [13780]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Security Service Act 1989 provides that, where the tribunal does not uphold a complaint, it shall give notice to the complainant that no determination has been made in his favour, but that it shall not give the complainant any reasons for its determination. To provide reasons would risk compromising the operational effectiveness of the Security Service, to the detriment of national security. For similar reasons, it is not possible to allow individuals to have access to information held by the Service.