Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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 Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
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 Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland 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 Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
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 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development 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 Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
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 Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by John Whittingdale
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.
Whilst each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions, I would refer the Hon. member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which noted that departments had been instructed to take a series of actions relating to surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has been implementing this policy along with other protective security controls.
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: 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.