The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Alex Burghart)
The Government take the security of the UK’s citizens, systems and establishments extremely seriously and we have a range of measures in place to scrutinise the integrity of our arrangements.
This was demonstrated in our recent updates on steps to prevent potential security risks materialising in light of the increasing capability and connectivity of visual surveillance systems.
Our approach is preventative to manage and mitigate any potential risk materialising in the future.
That is why in November 2022 the Government instructed all Departments to cease deployment of such equipment on to sensitive sites, where it is produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Departments were also advised that no such equipment should be connected to departmental core networks and that they should consider whether removal and replacement of such equipment should be expedited rather than awaiting any scheduled upgrades. In June 2023, during the Report stage of the Procurement Act, the Government also committed to setting out a timeline for the removal of such equipment from sensitive sites.
Work on the removal of these devices is currently ahead of schedule. To date, it has been identified that the vast majority of sensitive sites never deployed such equipment. Of the small proportion that did, approximately 50% of sites have now had that equipment replaced. Work is pressing ahead to remove remaining devices, with approximately 70% of sites expected to have their surveillance equipment removed by October this year, and all remaining sites on track for complete replacement no later than April 2025. The Government will always keep the security of our personnel, information and estate under constant review and, again, these preventative steps were taken in line with that approach and to manage against risks materialising.
[HCWS431]