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: 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 - Minister of State (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 - Minister of State (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 - 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 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 - Minister of State (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 - 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: 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 - 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: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 14 September of their response to the report from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament, China, when they will move a motion for debate to enable the House of Lords to discuss its findings and recommendations.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I am pleased to refer the noble Lord to the upcoming debate on the government’s position on the long-term strategic challenges posed by China, to be held in the House of Lords on 19 October.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the report of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament China [HC 1605], published on 13 July; and whether they plan to hold a debate on the report.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the written statement of 14 September 2023, Official Report, HLWS1012. I also refer to the answer of 11 September 2023, Official Report, Column 773.
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 initial a debate in the House of Lords on the threat to UK security from the People’s Republic of China, particularly given the findings of the Report of the Intelligence and Security Committee, published on 13 July.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
HM Government is considering each of the recommendations and conclusions in the Intelligence & Security Committee’s report on China and will publish a full response to the report in due course, as per the Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the government and the committee.