Part 3: Authorisations for obtaining communications data Sections 78 and 79: Collaboration agreements
Sections 78 and 79 provide for collaboration agreements that allow designated senior officers and SPoCs to be shared between public authorities. Such agreements can be voluntary or there is a power for the Secretary of State to require them. Relevant public authorities may enter into collaboration agreements in order to pool resources during busy periods or where public authorities make requests infrequently. The power to require collaboration agreements will be used to require public authorities that are less frequent users of communications data to use the expertise of designated senior officers and SPoCs in other public authorities who are more experienced in making applications, and may be used where the statutory purposes for which the collaborating public authorities can acquire communications data are different.