Photograph of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament Parliament regularly reviews the activities of the Security Service.
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The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) was established under the Intelligence Services Act 1994 to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
The Committee comprises nine Parliamentarians drawn from both the House of Commons and House of Lords.
The Prime Minister appoints the Committee in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Current Ministers are not allowed to be members of the Committee. The Committee reports annually to the Prime Minister, who then lays the report before Parliament, subject to any deletions on security grounds. The Committee also provides ad hoc reports to the Prime Minister from time to time.
The release of information to the Committee by the Director General of the Security Service is governed by Schedules 3-4 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994. He is able to share sensitive information with the Committee and in recent years the ISC has been briefed on a wide range of the Service's operational work. The Director General can also withhold information, with the agreement of the Home Secretary, because of its sensitivity.
The Committee is currently chaired by the Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP. Committee members, as of January 2008, are as follows:
See the Cabinet Office's website for a list of annual reports and special reports published by the ISC. Its most recent Annual Report was published in January 2008, and its most recent Special Report, on rendition, was published in July 2007.