Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many CCTV cameras manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua are installed on his Department's sites.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
We take the security of our personnel, systems and establishments very seriously and have a range of measures in place to ensure the integrity of our arrangements. These measures are kept under constant review and adjusted according to the threat. It is, however, long standing policy that we do not comment on the detail of those arrangements.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many CCTV cameras manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua have been installed on his Department's sites in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
We take the security of our personnel, systems and establishments very seriously and have a range of measures in place to ensure the integrity of our arrangements. These measures are kept under constant review and adjusted according to the threat. It is, however, long standing policy that we do not comment on the detail of those arrangements.
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 - Minister of State (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: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what restrictions the Government has imposed on (a) Huawei, (b) ZTE, (c) Hikvision, (d) Hytera, (e) Alibaba, (f) Tencent, (g) Dahua, (h) China Telecom, (i) China Mobile, (j) DJI, (k) ByteDance, (l) Kingsoft, (m) senseTime, (n) Megvil, (o) SMIC, (p) China Unicom and (q) Fujian Jinhua.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
This is a matter for the Cabinet Office.
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 - Minister of State (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 Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the installation of Hikvision cameras being positioned in UK police stations.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home 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 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 - Minister of State (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: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
It is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings, as has been the case under successive administrations. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.
Answered by George Freeman
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 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
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.