Question follow-through · 119369

Biometrics: Police National Database

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is in place relating to the thresholds at which retrospective facial recognition searches of the Police National Database may be operated.

answeredHome Office

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Home Office
Tabled
10 Mar 2026
Target answer date
12 Mar 2026
Answer
25 Mar 2026 · 15 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

More questions by this MP on Justice and policing

Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.

Votes on this topic

These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.

Recorded timeline

  1. 10 Mar 2026

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is in place relating to the thresholds at which retrospective facial recognition searches of the Police National Database may be operated.

  2. 12 Mar 2026

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 25 Mar 2026

    Answer published

    The Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMICFRS) to conduct an inspection of police and relevant law enforcement agencies’ use of retrospective facial recognition. The detail of the inspection and publication of ...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Immigration: Fees and Charges

24 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an impact assessment into the policy paper on Home Office immigration and nationality fees, due to increase from 8 April 2026, has been conducted.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Police: Biometrics

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the cost-effectiveness of police use of live facial recognition technology in comparison to traditional policing methods.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Surveillance

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the proportionality of deploying mass surveillance technology to address low level offences.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Police Custody: Photographs

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory requirement for the deletion of custody images where no charge or conviction follows.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

CCTV: Biometrics

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of integrating facial recognition into existing CCTV infrastructure on civil liberties.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Biometrics: Research

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on using experimental methods in conjunction with facial recognition; and who is responsible for enforcing that guidance.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Biometrics

23 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has issued guidance on using experimental methods in conjunction with facial recognition.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Police Custody: Photographs

23 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory requirement for the deletion of custody images where no (a) charge and (b) conviction follows.