Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use in schools, colleges and universities of Chinese-made surveillance cameras made by companies which are currently subject to US sanctions and investment bans.

Educational settings including schools, colleges and universities have delegated budget responsibility and can procure surveillance, security and CCTV systems autonomously.

For the procurement, sourcing and installation of surveillance, security and CCTV systems, the Department for Education will recommend and default to specification that includes as a minimum High Definition 1080P systems, compliant to BS EN 50132-7:2012 or BS EN 62676-4:2015.

The Department for Education does not mandate (or exclude) a country of origin for products and have made no assessments on the use of any specific products or vendors. Any decision regarding specific exclusion would be made at a broader cross-government level, with the Department for Education following that advice and communicating to schools via standard guidance and regular communications. In January, the government announced the provision of new guidance and support for UK public sector bodies, which will include schools, to exclude suppliers where there is sufficient evidence of human rights violations in any of their supply chains.

The Department for Education utilises existing guidance provided via the National Cyber Security Centre and will reiterate this to the Education sector via our scheduled communications to ensure schools remain aware and vigilant. More information can be found here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/consumers-urged-secure-internet-connected-cameras and here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/connected-places-security-principles/about-the-principles.