Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Directed Surveillance and Covert Human Intelligence Sources) Order 2003 and shall come into force one month after the day on which it is made.

(2) In this Order “the 2000 Act” means the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Amendments to Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act

2.—(1) Part I of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act shall be amended as follows.

(2) After paragraph 1 add the words—

“1A.  The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary.”.

(3) After paragraph 13 add the words—

“13A.  The Northern Ireland Office.”.

(4) For paragraph 17 substitute—

“17.  Any county council or district council in England, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and any county council or county borough council in Wales.”.

(5) After paragraph 17 add the words—

“17A.  Any fire authority within the meaning of the Fire Services Act 1947(2) (read with paragraph 2 of Schedule 11 to the Local Government Act 1985(3)).”.

(6) After the heading “Other bodies” add the words—

“17B.  The Charity Commission.”.

(7) After paragraph 20 add the words—

“20A.  The Gaming Board for Great Britain.

20B.  The Office of Fair Trading.

20C.  The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

20D.  The Postal Services Commission.”.

3.—(1) Part II of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act shall be amended as follows.

(2) After paragraph 27 add the words—

“27A.  Local Health Boards in Wales established under section 6 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002(4).

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools in England

27B.  Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools in England.

The Information Commissioner

27C.  The Information Commissioner.

The Royal Parks Constabulary

27D.  The Royal Parks Constabulary.”.

Prescribed offices, ranks and positions

4.—(1) The offices, ranks and positions listed in column 2 of Part I of the Schedule to this Order (being offices, ranks or positions with the relevant public authorities listed in column 1 of Part I of that Schedule which are relevant public authorities for the purposes of sections 28 and 29 of the 2000 Act) are hereby prescribed for the purpose of section 30(1) of the 2000 Act, subject to the restrictions in articles 7, 8 and 9.

(2) The offices, ranks and positions listed in column 2 of Part II of the Schedule to this Order (being offices, ranks or positions with the relevant public authorities listed in column 1 of Part II of that Schedule which are relevant public authorities for the purposes only of section 28 of the 2000 Act) are hereby prescribed for the purpose of section 30(1) of the 2000 Act, subject to the restrictions in articles 7, 8 and 9.

More senior offices, ranks and positions

5.—(1) Where an office, rank or position with a relevant public authority is prescribed by virtue of article 4, all more senior offices, ranks or positions with that authority are also prescribed for the purpose of section 30(1) of the 2000 Act, subject to article 10.

(2) Where an office, rank or position with a relevant public authority is described in column 2 of the Schedule to this Order by reference to an agency, unit, branch, division or other part of that authority, the reference in paragraph (1) to all more senior offices, ranks or positions with that authority is a reference to all more senior offices, ranks or positions with that agency, unit, branch, division or part.

Additional offices, ranks and positions prescribed for urgent cases

6.—(1) The additional offices, ranks and positions listed in column 3 of the Schedule to this Order (being offices, ranks or positions with the relevant public authorities listed in column 1) are hereby prescribed for the purposes of section 30(1) of the 2000 Act, subject to the restrictions in articles 7, 8 and 9 in the circumstances described in paragraph (2).

(2) An individual holding an office, rank or position which is listed in column 3 of the Schedule to this Order may only grant an authorisation where it is not reasonably practicable, having regard to the urgency of the case, for the application to be considered by an individual with the same authority holding an office, rank or position listed in column 2 of the Schedule to this Order.

(3) Where an office, rank or position with a relevant public authority is described in column 3 of the Schedule to this Order by reference to an agency, unit, branch, division or other part of that authority, the reference in paragraph (2) to an individual with the same authority is a reference to an individual with that agency, unit, branch, division or part.

Restrictions on the granting of authorisations

7.  The restriction in this article is that an individual holding an office, rank or position which is listed in column 2 or 3 of the Schedule to this Order may not grant an authorisation unless he believes it is necessary on the grounds set out in one or more of the paragraphs of sections 28(3) and 29(3) of the 2000 Act listed in the corresponding entry in column 4 of that Schedule.

8.  The restriction in this article is that where any entry in column 2 or 3 of Part I of the Schedule to this Order is headed by a reference to an authorisation under section 28 or section 29 of the 2000 Act, an individual holding an office, rank or position which is listed in that entry may only grant an authorisation under the section of the 2000 Act with which that entry is headed.

9.  The restriction in this article is that an individual holding an office, rank or position with the Food Standards Agency or the Rural Payments Agency may not grant an authorisation for conduct in Northern Ireland.

10.  The restrictions on the granting of authorisations under section 28 and 29 of the 2000 Act that apply to an individual holding an office, rank or position with a relevant public authority listed in column 2 of the Schedule to this Order shall also apply to individuals holding all more senior offices, ranks or positions with that authority that are prescribed by article 5.

Revocation

11.  The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Prescription of Offices, Ranks and Positions) Order 2000(5) is hereby revoked.

Article 4

SCHEDULE

Part I (Prescriptions for public authorities in Part I of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act that are relevant public authorities for the purposes of sections 28 and 29 of the 2000 Act)

Part II (Prescriptions for public authorities in Part II of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act that are relevant public authorities for the purposes only of section 28 of the 2000 Act)

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Articles 2 and 3 of this Order amend Schedule 1 to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”) by adding to it a number of new public authorities. Designated individuals in the public authorities listed in Part I of Schedule 1 are entitled to authorise directed surveillance and the use and conduct of covert human intelligence sources under sections 28 and 29 of the 2000 Act, respectively. Designated individuals in the public authorities listed in Part II of Schedule 1 are only entitled to authorise directed surveillance under section 28 of the 2000 Act. Article 4 of this Order prescribes offices, ranks and positions for the purposes of section 30(1) of the 2000 Act for both the public authorities already in Schedule 1 and those added to it by this Order. Individuals holding these prescribed offices, ranks or positions are designated under sections 28 and 29 of the 2000 Act as able to authorise directed surveillance and the use and conduct of covert human intelligence sources. An earlier Order that prescribed offices, ranks and positions in the public authorities that were in Schedule 1 when the 2000 Act was passed is revoked by article 10 of this Order.

Column 1 of the Schedule to this Order lists the public authorities. Column 2 specifies the individuals within each public authority that can authorise directed surveillance and the use and conduct of covert human intelligence sources. An individual holding an office, rank or position listed in column 2 of Part I of the Schedule may grant an authorisation under either section 28 or section 29 of the 2000 Act, other than where the Schedule indicates to the contrary. An individual holding an office, rank or position listed in column 2 of Part II of the Schedule may only grant an authorisation under section 28 of the 2000 Act. Individuals holding more senior offices, ranks or positions to those listed in column 2 may also authorise in the same circumstances as those to whom they are senior. Column 3 sets out certain less senior officials who can authorise in urgent cases. Column 4 sets out the grounds on which an authorisation can be given by reference to the grounds set out in the different paragraphs of sections 28(3) and 29(3) of the 2000 Act. For example, ground (b) is for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder.