To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many applications his Department and its predecessor have made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to (a) undertake directed surveillance, (b) use covert human intelligence sources, (c) acquire communications data and (d) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months. (222000)

Figures on public authority use of covert techniques controlled by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (‘RIPA’) are published annually by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner, each of whom has particular inspection and oversight responsibilities under RIPA. The latest reports were laid before Parliament and copies placed in the House Library on 22 July. The figures provided in the reports are not broken down by individual public authority use of specific covert technique as, depending on the particular technique and authority using it, this could either reveal sensitivities or be misleading. The question of further disclosure for any particular public authority is a matter for the relevant Commissioner.