Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department will publish its response to the consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics and facial recognition technologies, and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing safeguards pending the introduction of any new legislation.

The Police Reform Bill will introduce a new framework to underpin law enforcement use of biometric and overt surveillance systems. The framework will ensure policing can innovate in a repeatable and consistent manner, supporting adoption of emerging biometric and overt surveillance technologies that improve policing effectiveness and public protection, while maintaining appropriate safeguards and oversight.

The Government response to the consultation will be published in due course and a copy of the response will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on Gov.uk.