Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it remains their policy that TikTok is banned from Government phones and devices.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The restriction on use of the TikTok app on government devices remains in place. Where an essential business requirement necessitates the use of TikTok, this is managed through a formal exemptions and approvals process.
In March 2023 the previous government introduced a precautionary ban on the TikTok application on government electronic devices following a security review. This review looked at the potential vulnerability of government data on government devices and risks around how sensitive information could be accessed and used.
Restricting use of the TikTok application on government devices is a prudent, proportionate measure to protect government device data. This data can be sensitive, particularly in relation to ministers' devices given the sensitive nature of their role.
All government organisations and their Arm's Length Bodies are required to control which third-party applications are permitted for use on their corporate devices under the cross-government Mobile Device Management policy. We keep our cyber security policies under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking across all departments to ensure that British supply chains are free of slave labour.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Public procurement is a key lever for enabling delivery of the Government’s missions, both in terms of sourcing the goods and services required by the public sector but also in using procurement policy to drive up standards.
The government will be ensuring that the powers in the Procurement Act are utilised to support the new government’s priorities. New measures in the Act, which are due to come into force in October 2024, strengthens the rules on disregarding bids and excluding suppliers where there is evidence of modern slavery. This will apply even in circumstances where there has not yet been a conviction or technical breach of an international treaty.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the guidance provided to Ministers on recusing themselves from decision making; and what plans they have, if any, to review that guidance.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
As set out in the Ministerial Code, there is an established regime in place for the declaration and management of interests held by ministers. This ensures that steps are taken to avoid or mitigate any potential or perceived conflicts of interest. Under the terms of the Ministerial Code Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their ministerial position and their private interests, financial or otherwise. The Ministerial Code is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. There are no current plans to update the Ministerial interests’ provisions in the Code.
Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code provides detail on the procedure ministers must follow regarding their private interests. In particular it states, “it is the personal responsibility of each Minister to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict”.
More information about the process by which ministerial interests are managed is available in the Annual Report of the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests and the List of Ministers Interests. These are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total cost to date of the removal of Hikvision cameras from Whitehall departments; and what estimate they have made of the cost to local authorities of removing Hikvision cameras from local council buildings.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
It is a long-standing policy that the Government does not comment on security arrangements including the details of security systems. However, the UK takes national security extremely seriously and has taken robust action to secure and protect its national security infrastructure.
Following Royal Assent of the Procurement Act on 26 October 2023 the Government committed to publishing a timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites within six months. This timeline is due to be published by 26 April.
Sensitive sites were defined “as any building or complex that routinely holds secret material or above; any location that hosts a significant proportion of officials holding developed vetting clearance; any location which is routinely used by Ministers; and any government location covered under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.”
While local authorities may choose to follow the lead of central government in removing surveillance equipment they are under no obligation to do so. We encourage all organisations to follow NCSC supply chain security guidance when selecting a technology supplier. This guidance clearly sets the security standards that suppliers should meet and the considerations that organisations should be making during the procurement process.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Sweden's decision to reinstate civic duty for 18-year-olds, including training in emergency services and the maintenance of vital infrastructure, and of the similar model in Norway; and what consideration they have given, if any, to introducing a comparable model in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
Resilience is a top priority for this government. Ministers and officials regularly engage with International partners to learn from and share good practice in relation to resilience. There are no current plans to replicate Sweden’s model of civic duty.
The UK already has many reservist programmes: these include programmes for the armed forces, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Mountain Rescue, Retained Firefighters, Coastguard volunteers, NHS volunteers and special constables.
The Government has set out its ambition for a whole of society approach to resilience in the Resilience Framework. The Deputy Prime Minister’s first annual statement to Parliament on resilience offered more detail on plans to build on the community spirit in our country and the willingness of individuals to volunteer in a crisis by developing an index of volunteering opportunities.
To support the broader training offer the Government has committed to the development of a UK Resilience Academy that will provide a full suite of learning and training opportunities for the whole of society.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate the proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by RedBird IMI under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
The Government monitors the market at all times to identify acquisitions of potential national security interest. We do not routinely comment on individual transactions. As an open economy, the government welcomes foreign trade and investment where it supports growth and jobs in the UK, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security. However, the government will not hesitate to use our powers to protect national security where we identify concerns.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had (1) with, or (2) about, Hikvision regarding the removal of surveillance cameras which comply with China’s National Intelligence Law from (a) sensitive sites, and (b) the UK’s public procurement supply chain.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office has not had discussions with Hikvision regarding the removal of surveillance cameras produced by companies subject to China's National Intelligence Law. A letter was written on 1 August 2023 to confirm the position of the Government in respect of the Written Ministerial Statement of 24 November 2022.
We have had regular internal discussions about protecting the UK’s public procurement supply chain.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Procurement Act 2023 obliges police forces to remove Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive sites.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
The Procurement Act 2023 does not oblige police forces to remove Chinese-made surveillance equipment from their estate. The government has committed to remove from sensitive government sites all surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. This commitment does not extend to the wider public sector. However, public sector organisations, including police forces, may choose to mirror the action and I understand some have already done so.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether officials have met with Hikvision in the last year to discuss the Procurement Bill; and if so, what was discussed.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which surveillance technology companies the Cabinet Office has shared its definition of "sensitive sites" with, as outlined in the Procurement Bill.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.