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<p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Cabinet Office has been working closely with government
departments to implement the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s Written Ministerial
Statement of 24 November 2022. I can confirm that departments have ceased the deployment
of visual surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence
Law of the People's Republic of China onto sensitive sites.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The
statement also asked departments to consider whether they should remove and replace
such equipment where it is deployed on sensitive sites rather than awaiting any scheduled
upgrades. As the Parliamentary Secretary confirmed in the other place, the Government
will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies
subject to the national intelligence law of China from such sites within six months
of the Procurement Bill receiving Royal Assent. The Cabinet Office has been working
closely with Departments on this and I can confirm that good progress has already
been made.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>It is a longstanding Government policy that
specific security arrangements regarding the Government estate, including any lists
of sensitive sites and their locations, are withheld on security grounds. Security
teams within government departments are responsible for identifying which of their
locations are defined as sensitive against a common set of criteria.</p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>Since the Written Ministerial Statement, we have also been working
at pace to prepare for the implementation of the Procurement Bill, when it finishes
its Parliamentary steps. Our efforts have focused on the setting up of the new National
Security Unit for Procurement, which will administer the new national security debarment
and exclusion powers that the Bill will provide.</p><p><strong><br></strong>The measures
we have already taken on surveillance technology demonstrate that we will always put
national security first and we will continue to keep risks such as this under close
review. We will respond to the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s letter
on public space surveillance in due course. The Cabinet Office continues to monitor
Government policy in this area, and is currently engaging with the Commissioner on
this topic.</p>
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