Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with private facial recognition surveillance suppliers on use of live facial recognition in the retail sector.

The Government supports the appropriate use of facial recognition to solve and prevent crimes, bring offenders to justice, and keep people safe.

I have been engaging with a wide range of facial recognition suppliers, including those who supply to the retail sector, where it can play an important role in tackling retail crime.

The National Retail Crime Steering Group brings together Government, trade organisation, retailers and enforcement partners to discuss to ensure the response to crimes affecting the retail sector is as robust as it can be, which has included discussions on facial recognition.