Central Intelligence Machinery
The Government's national security policies aim to:
- protect UK and British territories, and British nationals and property, from a range of threats, including from terrorism and espionage;
- protect and promote Britain's defence and foreign policy interests;
- protect and promote the UK's economic well-being;
- support the prevention and detection of serious crime.
Intelligence from secret sources is used to support these aspects of the Government's policies by providing information on relevant activities and developments which are secret or undisclosed and which could not be adequately monitored from regular or overt sources.
The collection, analysis and assessment of this secret intelligence is guided by the Joint Intelligence Committee, which each year establishes requirements and priorities for the work of the intelligence community. These are put to the Ministerial Committee for the Intelligence Services for approval, with advice provided by the Permanent Secretaries' Committee on the Intelligence Services (see The Role of Ministers for more information on these bodies).
Intelligence collected by the three Agencies is passed directly in the form of reports to customer departments in Government, where it informs and assists decision-making. It contributes, with other sources of information, to threat assessment work and other longer-term analysis and assessment. Intelligence reporting from the Agencies is also used to support field operations by the Armed Forces and the law enforcement agencies.
The Agencies and those who use their intelligence products maintain close relationships. The Agencies work closely with each other, combining forces wherever appropriate in operational work, sharing elements of infrastructure and producing co-ordinated intelligence reports.
Machinery at the centre of government, in the Cabinet Office, is responsible for the tasking of the Agencies in accordance with agreed requirements and priorities, funding and performance monitoring. This machinery is led by the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and Head of Intelligence Assessment and The Prime Minister’s Security Adviser and Head of Intelligence, Security, and Resilience in the Cabinet Office, who advises on security, intelligence and emergency-related matters.
See UK Government intelligence: its nature, collection, assessment and use for information on how intelligence is gathered and used, and its limitations.
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