Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds.
However, I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (UIN HCWS386) made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Will Quince
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not Government policy to comment on the security arrangements of Government buildings. Specific details regarding security systems are withheld on national security grounds.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds.
Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions. However, I would refer the Hon. member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022, which set out that Departments had been instructed to disconnect surveillance equipment from core departmental networks where it is subject to the National Intelligence Law of China.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There is no recorded spending with either company in the last three years.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We can confirm that the DWP has not contracted directly with either of the named suppliers during the period in question. As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds. Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions. Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder here.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether all Hikvision camera-operated government departments have been updated to fix a known ‘backdoor’ hacking vulnerability identified by BBC Panorama, published on 26 June.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The government keeps the risk associated with technologies such as visual surveillance equipment under close review. The installation of firmware updates to address known vulnerabilities forms part of routine departmental security procedures.
In December 2022, the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster laid a Written Statement before Parliament which instructed government departments to cease deployment of such equipment onto sensitive sites, where it is produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. The WMS advised that no such equipment should be connected to departmental core networks and that they should consider whether they should remove and replace such equipment where it is deployed on sensitive sites rather than awaiting any scheduled upgrades.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Hikvision Cameras within the UK contain ‘ethnicity alerts’ algorithms that have been used to (1) target, and (2) detain, Uyghur Muslims in China.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK has serious concerns regarding the Chinese State’s use of technologies in ways that violate human rights and harm individuals and societies, including China’s use of high tech surveillance to disproportionately target Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. We are aware of a number of Chinese technology companies reportedly linked to violations taking place in Xinjiang, and are monitoring the situation closely. However, we are unable to comment on specific security arrangements or procedures.
We will always put national security first, and we have a range of measures in place to scrutinise the integrity of our arrangements. On 24 November 2022, the Government announced that Departments should cease deployment of visual surveillance systems produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law onto sensitive sites. In June 2023, we committed to publishing a timeline for the removal of this equipment.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Hikvision cameras in the UK contain any software to track ethnoreligious individuals targeted by the Chinese State.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK has serious concerns regarding the Chinese State’s use of technologies in ways that violate human rights and harm individuals and societies, including China’s use of high tech surveillance to disproportionately target Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. We are aware of a number of Chinese technology companies reportedly linked to violations taking place in Xinjiang, and are monitoring the situation closely. However, we are unable to comment on specific security arrangements or procedures.
We will always put national security first, and we have a range of measures in place to scrutinise the integrity of our arrangements. On 24 November 2022, the Government announced that Departments should cease deployment of visual surveillance systems produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law onto sensitive sites. In June 2023, we committed to publishing a timeline for the removal of this equipment.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has purchased any products manufactured by Hikvision or Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We can confirm that the Cabinet Office has not contracted directly with either of the named suppliers during the period in question.
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds.
Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions. Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder).
Oral Evidence Jul. 05 2023
Inquiry: Human Rights at WorkFound: There are 1 million Hikvision cameras around the country, some of them being used in places of