The Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT) is an executive directorate of the Home Office

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

 responsible for leading the work on counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism

Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...

 in the UK, working closely with the police and security services. The office reports to the Home Secretary

Home Secretary

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...

 (currently Theresa May

Theresa May

Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...

) and Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism (currently Baroness Neville-Jones).

Responsibilities

According to its website, the current responsibilities of the OSCT are:

• Exercising the UK's response to a terrorist incident
• Developing legislation on terrorism here and overseas
• Providing security measures and protection packages for public figures
• Ensuring that the UK’s critical national infrastructure
  Infrastructure
  Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
  
  is protected from attack (including electronic attack)
• Ensuring the UK is prepared to deal with a chemical, biological, or nuclear release
• Liaising with government and emergency services during terrorist incidents or counter-terrorism operations