Partnerships

The Security Service liaises closely with a wide range of organisations and Government departments, both in the UK and overseas. This network of relationships is fundamental to our work.

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Government Departments

We work particularly closely with the Home Office and have strong links with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office, the Northern Ireland Office, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence. We advise all central Government departments and agencies on protective security matters.

Other Intelligence Agencies

We work very closely with both the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), whose statutory basis is found in the Intelligence Services Act 1994.

The three agencies have different but related functions, and the range of mutual assistance is wide. The closeness of our relationships promotes co-operation when a particular result can be achieved more effectively or more efficiently with the help of one or both of the other agencies. For example, SIS and ourselves share resources in some support areas, to avoid duplication.

More formally, we are one of the many departments that task SIS and GCHQ through the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) to collect certain categories of intelligence. In our case, this is intelligence relevant to our functions, and supplements our own collection efforts. We are a major customer for intelligence produced by these two agencies.

Law Enforcement Agencies and the Armed Services

In addition, we have strong ties with the UK's 56 police forces, particularly their Special Branches, and with other law enforcement agencies, such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency and HM Revenue and Customs. We receive help from the police in many areas of our work, provide them with information and intelligence assessments on current threats, and collaborate closely with them in investigations that may result in criminal proceedings.

We have also provided unique support to the police and other law enforcement agencies in the field of serious crime, though this work is currently suspended due to other operational priorities.

As announced in a ministerial statement in February 2005, the Security Service will assume the lead responsibility for Northern Ireland's national security intelligence work from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) (PSNI) during 2007, bringing Northern Ireland arrangements into line with the rest of the UK. However, we will still work in close partnership with the PSNI, who will continueto provide the operational police response in countering terrorism and protecting the whole community in Northern Ireland.

We also work with the armed services on a range of security matters.

Foreign Security and Intelligence Services

We are charged with protecting national security, which may be threatened both in the UK and overseas. Although our primary focus is domestic, the concept of national security extends beyond the UK. We work closely with our counterparts in other countries to ensure the security of UK interests overseas, and, in an increasingly globalised world, threats to our key partners have an impact on us too.

In many areas of our work we rely heavily on the support of SIS and the assistance given by foreign security and intelligence services. To this end we have links with over 100 services worldwide, and work closely with them in countering transnational threats.