Cost Of The Security Services

EDM number 523 in 2000-01, proposed by Austin Mitchell on 03/04/2001.

That this House welcomes the first public appearance by the Director General of the Security Services, Sir Stephen Lander, at the Royal United Services Institution and the work of the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee in getting this committee established and accepted; notes that spending on spies is growing at an annual average of 4.1 per cent. a year, much faster than public spending as a whole; further notes that the total cost of intelligence gathering is now put at ú2.5 billion, higher than spending on the Diplomatic Service, and has doubled since the end of the cold war, a process of compounding growth amplified by cost overruns such as M16 and M15 headquarters which cost ú300 million more than estimated, while the cost of moving the GCHQ surveillance, originally put at ú20 million, now stands at ú400 million and could rise as high as ú1 billion; and further recommends that the National Audit Office should now examine whether the services provide value for money, because their expenditure, which has increased, is massively increasing and ought to be diminished, as well as being made fully accountable to Parliament.

This motion has been signed by a total of 25 MPs.