National Crime Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2015–16 Annual Report presented to Parliament pursuant to paragraph 8(2) of Schedule 2 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Accounts presented to the House of Commons pursuant to Section 6(4) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. Accounts presented to the House of Lords by Command of Her Majesty. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 21 July 2016. HC 341 © Crown copyright 2016 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at NCA, Units 1–6, Citadel Place, Tinworth Street, London SE11 5EF. Print ISBN 9781474128711 Web ISBN 9781474128728 ID 15021601 07/16 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum. Printed in the UK by the Williams Lea Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Contents Part one – Performance report Overview Foreword by the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office 3 Statement by the Director General 4 Introduction 5 Statutory background and statement of purpose & vision 7 Principal activities 8 Going concern statement 9 Performance analysis Key performance questions 10 KPQ1 – How comprehensive is the NCA’s understanding of the threats? 10 KPQ2 – How effective is the NCA’s response to the threat? 12 KPQ3 – How effective is the NCA at working with partners? 21 KPQ4 – How effectively does the NCA manage resources? 27 Scotland and Northern Ireland 30 Sustainability report 33 Glossary 39 NCA output data for 2015–16 40 Part two – Accountability report Corporate governance report Directors’ report 42 Statement of the Accounting Officer’s responsibilities 44 The governance statement 45 Remuneration and staff report 59 Parliamentary accountability and audit report 71 Statement of parliamentary supply 71 Remote contingent liabilities, losses and special payments 74 The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the Houses of Parliament 75 NCA Annual Report and Accounts 2015–16 1 Part three – Financial statements Statement of comprehensive net expenditure 77 Statement of financial position 78 Statement of cash flow 79 Statement of changes to taxpayers’ equity 80 Notes to the accounts 81 2 NCA Annual Report and Accounts 2015–16 Foreword by the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office It is also impressive to see the extent to which the NCA is working with partners both nationally and internationally. At a time when the scale and depth of corruption is being revealed more than ever before, the International Corruption Unit within the NCA is well placed to tackle and undermine the serious and organised crime it underpins. No criminal is or can be allowed to feel untouchable. The Director General rightly identifies significant operational successes in her statement. The NCA has been quick to address emerging threats to the UK and has stepped forward to lead internationally in a number of areas such as organised immigration crime. In particular, the NCA's work in North Africa to stop migrants being exploited by people smugglers in the Mediterranean and saving lives, is to be When the National Crime Agency was welcomed. established in 2013, it was clear that the NCA needed to be open and transparent, The NCA has and will continue to have a outward facing and accountable for its hugely challenging task, but this report activities. This report fulfils that ambition, demonstrates considerable progress and but achieves more besides. I am glad to an absolute commitment to continuing to say that it is an honest and clear eyed protect us all from serious and organised appraisal of what the NCA has achieved crime in all its forms. and what remains to be done. The stand out message of the report is that the NCA is focusing on the key threats from serious and organised crime and working hard to identify and tackle the new types of crime we face. Where there are gaps in our intelligence picture, the NCA is focusing its efforts in areas such as child sexual exploitation, cyber crime and organised immigration crime to fill them. A better understanding of the threat will help us all to protect the public and to target criminals more effectively. Mark Sedwill Home Office, Permanent Secretary NCA Annual Report and Accounts 2015–16 3 Statement by the Director General do and why. The current discussions on the Investigatory Powers Bill demonstrate that wider law enforcement has had to be explicit about the challenges we face and the capabilities that we and others need to be able to keep up with criminals’ use of technology and thereby be better able to protect the public. Our public profile is the highest it has ever been, thanks in part to the recent NCA documentaries, our increased use of social media and the live radio broadcast last In the relatively short time since I took up year. We will not shy away from publicising post as Director General it has become our achievements and their impact, but clear to me that we undertake some then neither will we avoid challenge when absolutely outstanding operational work, things don’t quite go to plan; our response based on high quality intelligence, which is to the warrant review is covered in this both extensive and dynamic. We have document. delivered some exceptional results this year – as this report clearly demonstrates. There have been changes in NCA leadership this year. In particular I would Protection of our budget and significant like to pay tribute to my predecessor, capital investment for the forthcoming Keith Bristow, for successfully establishing year will enable us to maintain and the NCA at the centre of the law increase the capabilities we need to enforcement landscape with a committed continue to deliver such results and to workforce determined to relentlessly advance our ability to tackle the most pursue serious and organised criminals. serious and organised criminals affecting the UK; maintaining our ability to flex I look forward to continuing to lead this our resources to meet the ever-changing internationally recognised agency. Our threats. We know that having the best response must be based on doing the best possible intelligence picture and being to serve the public of the UK. The result – confident to make decisions about the after year end – of the EU Referendum threats, and how to respond to them, does nothing to diminish our commitment. are key to our operational success. If our need to cooperate closely and share intelligence with some of our international We deal with the most serious and partners cannot be achieved through EU complex areas of crime and take seriously mechanisms, we will find others. our responsibility to protect the public and to engender public confidence in us, by being as open as possible about what we Lynne Owens CBE QPM MA Director General Date: 18 July 2016 4 NCA Annual Report and Accounts 2015–16 Introduction This third Annual Report of the National Serious and Organised Crime Crime Agency (NCA) considers how the Strategy agency has discharged its statutory functions over the year and examines The Government’s first priority of the how the NCA has delivered the key Serious and Organised Crime Strategy is performance questions set out in its the highest priority for the NCA: to identify Annual Plan for 2015–16. and disrupt serious and organised crime including by investigating and enabling the The NCA has responsibility for leading the prosecution of those responsible – UK’s overall effort to tackle serious Pursue. The NCA co-ordinates this work, and organised crime. It also has a set of leading and supporting operations across specific statutory and national five main areas: organised crime; cyber; responsibilities to fulfil in conjunction with, economic crime; child sexual exploitation and sometimes on behalf of, UK law and serious and organised crime at, and enforcement. The NCA operates in crossing, our borders. The NCA’s activities response to a broad range of threats and are aligned to the Serious and Organised risks, many of which also remain the Crime Strategy, but are not limited to responsibility of other UK law enforcement those which fall under Pursue. The NCA agencies. As this report will demonstrate, supports and, where appropriate, leads those threats and risks are constantly cross Government work, locally and changing and this year has seen a change nationally, to deliver the three other in law enforcement priorities as a result of components in the Serious and Organised events at home and abroad. Crime Strategy: to strengthen protection against and reduce the impact of serious The NCA Director General has operational and organised crime – Prepare and independence, but is accountable to the Protect; and to deter people from Home Secretary for the effective discharge becoming involved in serious and of the NCA’s functions and through the organised criminal activity – Prevent. Home Secretary to Parliament. A published This report contains examples of NCA Framework Document sets out in detail activity against all four Ps. the roles and responsibilities of the Home Secretary, the Home Office and Statutory tasking arrangements 1 Government in respect of the NCA. The NCA is also subject to scrutiny by Considerable work continued in two tasked the Scottish Parliament and the Northern pieces of activity for which the NCA leads.