To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the cost of implementing the Mastering the Internet Project; and if she will make a statement. (274069)

I have been asked to reply.

Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) continues to invest to maintain its capabilities in the face of growth in internet-based communications. The use of internet technologies and skills are one of the greatest challenges GCHQ has to master in order to deliver intelligence in accordance with its statutory purposes set out in the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (section 3). In the interests of national security detailed figures on Security and Intelligence Agency expenditure are not made public, but are subject to parliamentary scrutiny through the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC). The ISC's annual report for 2007-08 was published in March 2009.