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Budget and Staff - Security Service MI5

The size and structure of the Service has altered considerably in recent years and will continue to do so, to reflect changing threats and working methods, resource pressures, and the implementation of new information technology. The total staff is approximately around 1,900 having declined from 2,150 at the end of the Cold War. The agency has a budget of £140mM.

STAFF

The Service currently employs around 1,900 people, equivalent to 1,860 full-time staff. 47% of the staff are women, 54% are under the age of 40 and 5% work part-time. In addition, over 100 staff are currently working in the Service on secondment or attachment from other departments and agencies. Drawn from all walks of life, the staff are a mixture of specialists (including linguists, technicians and surveillance officers) and generalist intelligence and administrative staff.

The main investigative, assessment and policy work of the Service is carried out by generalist staff, who account for about two-thirds of the total. But their work requires support from a range of specialists in languages, technology, surveillance, IT, communications and protective security.

More than a quarter of them are specialist staff who have brought their particular skills to the job or have been trained after joining. These staff have a wide range of expertise and include linguists, computer experts,communications specialists, scientists, technical staff, as well as building maintenance staff, catering staff, printers, drivers, mechanics and porters. The remainder are generalists. Some of them join as recent graduates or equivalent to carry out the intelligence tasks, (investigation, assessment of risks and operational work), policy and key administrative work. Others join at a more junior level for administrative, clerical and support work. Occasionally there is a requirement to recruit a small number of generalists at the middle management level.

Recruitment of Staff

The Service recruits a wide range of staff, including specialists, graduates and school leavers. Because of the Service's exacting requirements for integrity and reliability, all candidates are vetted to the highest level of security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). In 1997 the Service for the first time advertised openly in the national press for new recruits. Candidates applying to the Civil Service Fast Stream can, on passing the qualifying test for the Civil Service Selection Board, nominate the Service as the department they wish to join.

Staff Development and Training

The Service places emphasis on training and development for all members of staff. On joining the Service staff receive structured induction training and one-to-one mentoring according to the work they are to undertake. This is supplemented by training in specific skills required for particular posts. Further development opportunities occur as staff move periodically to different posts in the Service. Most training is carried out internally by the Service's own professionally-trained staff, though sometimes external training providers are also used. Some specialist staff are recruited with the required qualifications and expertise, while others, such as surveillance staff, are given intensive in-house training. Graduate entrants to the Service's general duties staff receive a six month training package which combines formal courses with substantial periods of work experience. Staff also have the opportunity to study for relevant external qualifications.

Staff Forum

The Staff Forum is a body of elected representatives from across the Service. It serves as a channel of communication to senior management of staff views on matters of general concern, and it provides a means of consultation on key issues such as terms and conditions of service and pay. Staff Forum business is conducted both through formal meetings, chaired by the Director General, and through continuing contacts and discussion between Forum representatives and members of the senior management and the personnel branch.

The Staff Counsellor

Since 1987 all members of the Security Service, SIS and GCHQ have had access to an external Staff Counsellor. The Staff Counsellor is available for private consultation by any member of the three services who may have concerns about the nature or propriety of their work. Under these terms of reference he sends a report, at least annually, to the Prime Minister and to the relevant Secretaries of State (the Home Secretary in the case of the Security Service).

Equal Opportunities

The Service operates an equal opportunities policy. The selection of new recruits and decisions on staff for promotion are based on merit, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, race or religion.

Anonymity of Staff

With the exception of the Director General, who since 1992 has been publicly named on appointment, the Service has a firm policy of keeping the identities and home addresses of its staff out of the public domain. This policy of anonymity remains a necessity because of the personal threat that staff would otherwise face, particularly from terrorist groups, some of which are known to regard the Service as a prime target. It is also vital for the success of intelligence-gathering operations that the Service's staff can operate under cover against target organisations or in hostile situations without being identified as Security Service officers. Staff would no longer be widely deployable if their identity or appearance were compromised, with consequential damage to the Service's effectiveness. Public identification of someone as a member of the Service, including his or her appearance, could also have serious implications for the security of agents with whom that officer may have worked in the past. The consequences of publicity can therefore extend to others besides the individual member of the Service. Another reason for anonymity is that it greatly reduces the scope for targeting by foreign intelligence services, criminals or others wishing to penetrate or corrupt the Service.

For these reasons, judges have allowed Security Service staff to give evidence in criminal trials anonymously, including the use of screens to protect the appearance of the witnesses. These arrangements correspond to those for undercover or specialist police officers, or members of the special forces, when they give evidence. The decision on these issues, however, rests with the judge in each case. Even where the judge makes an order for the screening and anonymity of Security Service witnesses, their evidence remains subject to cross-examination by the defence in the normal way.

BUDGET

The Security Service budget for the financial year 1997/98 was less than £140m. Direct expenditure on the Service's core areas of work accounted for around two-thirds of the total budget, apportioned as follows:

						Per cent
	Terrorism related to Northern Ireland	25.0
	International Terrorism			15.5
	Espionage				12.0
	Protective Security			 7.5
	Serious Crime				 2.5
	Proliferation				 2.0

The remaining major areas of expenditure are: technological development - in a constantly changing environment the Service must invest in the development of its investigative capabilities in order to maintain a technological edge over sophisticated targets and to enhance efficiency; assisting other agencies in their work, such as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC); work to ensure compliance with the Service's accountability arrangements, together with internal security, financial management and resource planning.

In line with the now reduced threat, the Service currently devotes only 12% of its budget to all aspects of counter-espionage. This is significantly less than in the period prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, when around a half of the Service's resources were focused directly on the substantial espionage threat posed by the Soviet Union and its allies alone.

With the collapse of Soviet communism, and taking into account the intentions and declining capabilities of subversive groups, the Service scaled down its work in this area over a number of years. The Security Service currently has no investigations in this area. During the financial year 1997/98 only 0.3% of the Service's resources were allocated to the remnants of this work, predominantly to pay the pensions of retired agents.

The Service's budget is paid from the Single Intelligence Vote (SIV), which carries the budget provision for all three security and intelligence agencies, and for which the Cabinet Secretary is the Accounting Officer. In 1997/98, the SIV totalled £701 million, of which Security Service expenditure was less than £140 million. Both the total size of the SIV and the Service's share of it are determined annually by Ministers under arrangements similar to those which apply to all other government departments. Those arrangements are designed to enable Ministers to decide on the amount to be spent on security and intelligence, in the context of decisions on the overall level and allocation of government spending. Like other departments, the Security Service is subject to close budgetary scrutiny and challenging efficiency targets.

Permanent Secretaries' Committee on the Intelligence Services (PSIS)

In reaching decisions about the size of the SIV and each agency's share of it, Ministers receive advice from PSIS, which scrutinises the three agencies' annual expenditure forecasts, plans and intelligence requirements. PSIS is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and its members are the Permanent Secretaries of the Home Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and Treasury. PSIS itself receives advice from the inter-departmental committee SO(SSPP) (see left) which scrutinises and validates the Security Service's plans, and from the JIC in respect of GCHQ and SIS.

National Audit Office (NAO)

The Service operates within the financial framework of government accounting and is subject to audit in the normal way by the National Audit Office. NAO staff have access to the Service's records for this purpose. The Service's accounts are certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General.