Communications data of individuals from mobile telecoms providers

FOI reference - FOI-145
Date - 9 August 2023

Request

You have requested the following information:

1. Since 1 January 2018, on how many occasions has The Pensions Regulator obtained the 'communications data' (for example, Call Data Records, or CDRs) of individuals from mobile telecoms providers, either directly or indirectly through another agency (for example Met Police, Home Office, etc.)? Please break this down into:
   
   1. number of separate occasions these were requested
   2. number of individual phone numbers for which CDRs were requested
   3. the legal basis for the requests (please specify the number of requests per legal basis. For example, 'total requests: 3, Investigatory Powers Act – 2, Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 -- 1')
   4. the particular legislation used for example PACE, RIPA, IP Act (number of instances as a percentage of the total)
   5. what percentage of requests for that data that were rejected, and the reasons for the rejection.

For guidance, CDRs are part of 'communications data' from a telecoms company. Please see this document, particularly page 13: Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data (Home Office).

2. Since 1 January 2018, has The Pensions Regulator purchased or otherwise received (including free of charge) any anonymised mobile phone communications data sets (otherwise known as anonymised CDRs), be they of individuals or aggregate data. (For your information, an example of commercial 'big data' for mobile phones can be found here: Telefonica Digital partners with GfK to launch ‘big data’ analysis service for business and local authorities (thenextweb.com))
   
   1. If yes, please state on how many occasions and when
   2. From which telecoms providers the communications data originated
   3. If purchased via a third-party, please specify which company
   4. The intended use of that data
   5. The total amount spent, if anything
   6. If not purchased but nonetheless shared, please state the name of the body that provided the data

Response

You have requested the following information:

1. Since 1 January 2018, on how many occasions has The Pensions Regulator obtained the 'communications data' (for example, Call Data Records, or CDRs) of individuals from mobile telecoms providers, either directly or indirectly through another agency (for example Met Police, Home Office, etc.)? Please break this down into:
   
   1. number of separate occasions these were requested
      Ten since 2020. No communications data recorded pre-2020, as TPR was not set up to apply for communications data prior to this date.
   2. number of individual phone numbers for which CDRs were requested
      Thirty five.
   3. the legal basis for the requests (please specify the number of requests per legal basis. For example, 'total requests: 3, Investigatory Powers Act – 2, Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 -- 1')
      The Investigatory Powers Act (IPA).
   4. the particular legislation used for example PACE, RIPA, IP Act (number of instances as a percentage of the total)
      IPA (100%).
   5. what percentage of requests for that data that were rejected, and the reasons for the rejection.
      One rejection due to this falling outside of the scope of investigation.

2. Since 1 January 2018, has The Pensions Regulator purchased or otherwise received (including free of charge) any anonymised mobile phone communications data sets (otherwise known as anonymised CDRs), be they of individuals or aggregate data. (For your information, an example of commercial 'big data' for mobile phones can be found here: Telefonica Digital partners with GfK to launch ‘big data’ analysis service for business and local authorities (thenextweb.com))
   No.

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