Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the Information Commissioner’s Office’s audit of police use of facial recognition technology; and how she plans to improve data protection compliance.

The Police Reform Bill will introduce a new legal framework to underpin law enforcement use of biometric and overt surveillance systems.

The Government welcomes the Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) work on facial recognition technology, including its audits of police forces. The audits have highlighted the importance of strong governance, accountability, record-keeping and compliance with data protection requirements when using facial recognition technology. The Home Secretary has also commissioned HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services to undertake an independent inspection of police use of retrospective facial recognition. The Government will consider the ICO’s audit and findings from other relevant oversight bodies, alongside responses to the public consultation, to help inform the design of new legal framework that will be introduced in the Police Reform Bill to underpin law enforcement use of biometrics and overt surveillance.