THE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2004-2005

Each year the ISC compiles a report on the Intelligence community. The 2004-2005 report contains very interesting bits of information.

From The ISC Report 2004-5 we can read

29. In last year’s Annual Report,6 we expressed concern about the reduction of effort allocated to counter-espionage work, and both the Director General and the Home Secretary acknowledged that the UK was “carrying some risk here”. We were told that the planned 2004–05 allocation would be 10% of the Net Resource Allocation. In the event, because of a £*** underspend on counter-terrorism that reduced the Service’s total Net Resource Requirement in 2004–05, the actual allocation to counter-espionage was 11%. However, we are concerned that current planning provides for a reduction in the allocation to counter-espionage from the previous year, down to 9% of the Net Resource Requirement, which, despite the increase in funding available to the Service, is actually a real terms reduction. We repeat the concerns we expressed last year that, because of the necessary focus on counter-terrorism, significant risks are being taken in the area of counter-espionage.

The emphasis is not added by me!! The emphasis is in the report!!

So the "lack of resources" excuse does not compute. The ISC were expressing concern that counter-terrorism resources were being cut and had been cut for a number of years!!

The reason as to why they were being cut is not given. I have my suspicions.

But there's more!

From the report

21. In previous years we have reported that the Agencies did not spend their full allocation and they have consequently rolled the funding over as end-year flexibility. To manage this underspend, a block adjustment of £*** has been made to reflect an assumption that it will be possible to identify £*** in each of the years 2004–05 to 2007–08 that can be reallocated within the SIA. This has allowed the bids presented by the Agencies to PSX (the Cabinet Committee on Public Services and Public Expenditure) to be funded. There is a risk that these underspends may not occur, but the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has agreed to look again at the funding should the underlying assumption prove incorrect. In the current year, £*** has been drawn down from the end-year flexibility reserve for the Agencies.[emphasis added]

So the intelligence agencies have not been spending their full budgets for years now and the accumulated surplus has been carried through to this year!! Christ, their rolling in it. They've got more money than the fractional reserve bankers and Harry Enfield's character Loadsamoney put together!

Lack of resources? Bollocks!