IPCO Annual Report 2025: what investigators need to know

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) published its Annual Report 2025 on 29 October 2026. You can read the full report on IPCO's Annual Reports page.

The report covers IPCO's oversight of covert investigatory powers across public authorities, from the intelligence agencies to police forces and local councils. It is the Commissioner's statutory annual report to the Prime Minister, which is then laid before Parliament.

The headline

In his foreword, the Commissioner, Lord Leveson, sets out concerns at several bodies, including GCHQ over lost removable media and the Ministry of Defence over its application of the Principles on detainees. He says these matters raise wider questions about whether parts of the framework, particularly older regimes such as RIPA, "remain clear, coherent and fit for purpose" (foreword, p.7).

What it means for local authorities

IPCO describes council powers (CHIS, directed surveillance and communications data) as generally low-volume activity. Since 2023 it has used a risk-based model, asking for written assessments of compliance before deciding whether a remote or in-person inspection is needed (para 4.7).

In 2025 it carried out 114 local authority inspections and 53 of wider public authorities. It found high levels of compliance and identified nothing requiring formal inclusion in the report (para 4.9).

Councils authorised 242 directed surveillance operations in 2025, up from 206 in 2024, and 13 CHIS, up from 7 (Figures 12.2 and 12.1). Communications data is still available to councils only through certified collaboration arrangements, in practice through NAFN (para 4.8).

Where things go wrong

Across law enforcement, wider public authorities, local authorities and prisons, reported errors rose from 82 in 2024 to 131 in 2025. None met the statutory definition of a serious error (para 7.19). These figures cover every sector, not just councils.

Surveillance errors were mainly human error: starting before the authorisation took effect, carrying on after cancellation, or going beyond what was authorised (para 7.20).

For CHIS, status drift remains the main category of error (para 7.21).

Our view: a clean inspection result is good news. But those error themes are the ones a low-use authority is most exposed to: start and stop times, staying inside the authorisation, and spotting when a source's reporting turns them into a CHIS.

Need a refresher?

BDG Training Consultancy offers free consultancy to scope bespoke RIPA Applicant, Authorising Officer and Gatekeeper training for your team. See our investigation training courses or email info@bdgtrainingconsultancy.co.uk.

Sources: Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office, Annual Report of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner 2025, published 29 October 2026, foreword and paras 4.7–4.9, 7.19–7.21, Figures 12.1–12.2, https://www.ipco.org.uk/publications/annual-reports/ (retrieved 29 October 2026). This is a training and awareness summary, not legal advice. Local policy takes precedence.