This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate due to take place in the House of Lords on 9 September 2019 that “this House takes note of the recent work of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament”.
Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament: Recent Work (199 KB , PDF)
The Intelligence and Security Committee has responsibility for the oversight of the UK intelligence community. The Intelligence Services Act 1994 created the committee, with the Justice and Security Act 2013 extending its powers and remit.
Nine parliamentarians from both Houses make up the committee. Ministers, however, are not able to join. The current members of the committee are: Dominic Grieve (Chair, Conservative); Richard Benyon (Conservative); Stewart Hosie (SNP); Caroline Flint (Labour); David Hanson (Labour); Lord Janvrin (Crossbench); Kevan Jones (Labour); Marquess of Lothian (Conservative); and Keith Simpson (Conservative).
The committee’s role is to examine the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of the Security Service (MI5); the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS); and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). It also scrutinises the work of the Joint Intelligence Organisation and the National Security Secretariat in the Cabinet Office; Defence Intelligence in the Ministry of Defence; and the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism in the Home Office.
The committee sets its own agenda and work programme. It produces an annual report, which, following redactions, is laid before both Houses. The report, along with the Government’s response, is then debated. The most recent annual report (2017–18) sets out the work conducted by the committee between April 2017 and July 2018. It includes information on: the detainee inquiry; diversity and inclusion; the terror attacks inquiry; Russia; Syria; committee resources; and other committee work.
In March 2019, the committee announced its next inquiry will focus on national security issues relating to China. Amongst other issues the inquiry will examine the role of Huawei in the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure. The committee has also recently made a statement on 5G suppliers, arguing that “a decision must be made as a matter of urgency”.
Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament: Recent Work (199 KB , PDF)
The Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill is a two-clause government bill that would authorise the government to provide loans and other financial assistance to Ukraine resulting from the extraordinary revenue acceleration (ERA) loans agreement made at the meeting of the G7 and the EU in June 2024. It has been designated as a money bill and it completed its House of Commons stages on 18 December 2024 with broad cross-party support.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill would introduce requirements on those responsible for certain publicly accessible premises and events to implement measures in the event of a terrorist attack. It would also require certain larger premises and events to take steps to reduce their vulnerability to terrorist attacks.
In 2024 the restoration and renewal programme announced it would be developing three options to preserve the Palace of Westminster. Details should be presented to Parliament in 2025. Members will then decide whether the programme should temporarily relocate both Houses of Parliament, keep the Commons Chamber onsite while temporarily relocating the Lords, or conduct a rolling programme of works “to deliver enhanced maintenance and improvement”. Surveying, design and remediation work was also progressed in 2024.
