Drafting and adoption of the Security and Intelligence Instrument

Request

I am seeking information regarding the Security and Intelligence Instrument that was made by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in December 2021: The Security and Intelligence Instrument. Specifically, I would be grateful if you could please provide me with a copy of the following records:

1. Any information held by your department that relate to the drafting and adoption of the above Instrument.
2. Between 1 January 2022 and 31 August 2025, how many records, which fall under the CAB or PREM series and were retained by their original department under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958 pursuant to the above instrument, have been partially or wholly opened and released to The National Archives?
3. Any guidance produced or held by your department that discusses sensitivity reviews of records relating to intelligence, besides the one already available on your website.

Outcome

Information withheld.

Response

I can confirm that The National Archives holds some information relevant to your request. However, for the reasons outlined below, we are unable to provide you with this information.

We are unable to provide you with some of the information that you have requested because it is covered by the exemption at section 23(1) of the FOI Act, which exempts information if it was directly or indirectly supplied to a public authority by, or relates to, any of the bodies specified in subsection (3). For further information about this exemption, please see the explanatory annex at the end of this letter.

1. Any information held by your department that relate to the drafting and adoption of the Security and Intelligence Instrument that was made by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in December 2021.

This information is covered by the exemption at section 23(1) of the FOI Act.

2. Between 1 January 2022 and 31 August 2025, how many records, which fall under the CAB or PREM series and were retained by their original department under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958 pursuant to the above instrument, have been partially or wholly opened and released to The National Archives?

TNA does not hold this information, because departments (listed under schedule 1 of the Security & Intelligence Instrument) are not required to declare which records (listed under schedule 2 of the instrument) are retained under the terms of the instrument.

Further information on the operation of the Security and Intelligence Instrument can be seen on the relevant transparency page for the Instrument, as published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

However, the departments listed under schedule 1 of the instrument may hold this information for the records they transfer to The National Archives.

The CAB and PREM series are transferred by the Cabinet Office, and you can request this information directly from them by contacting them at foi-team@cabinetoffice.gov.uk or write to them at:

FOI Team
Cabinet Office
Room G39
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ

More information on the retention of records can be found here: Access to Public Records - Retention

3. Any guidance produced or held by your department that discusses sensitivity reviews of records relating to intelligence, besides the one already available on your website.

TNA does not hold this information.

More information on sensitivity reviews of records selected for permanent preservation can be found here: Step 3: Sensitivity reviews of selected records - The National Archives

Annexe

Exemptions applied

Section 23: Bodies dealing with security matters

Section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) exempts from public disclosure, information that is directly or indirectly supplied by, or relates to, certain organisations dealing with security matters listed at Section 23(3).

The Information Commission’s Office supports a wide interpretation of ‘relates to’ and includes any information concerning or linked to the activities of a body dealing with security matters.

Section 23(3) lists the security bodies which include the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and other similar bodies.

Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found one the ICO website.