The DWP confirmed it will “not use China-made security camera equipment” amid an overhaul of its security device.
The Chinese company Hikvision has installed more than a million cameras in schools, hospitals and police departments across the UK.
However, it’s been at the center of controversy after a Hikvision camera caught Matt Hancock hugging a tool last year, forcing him to resign.
There are also concerns from civil liberties campaign groups that it was added to the Chinese government’s persecution of the Uyghur minority.
It comes after the Department of Health banned the purchase of new Hikvision equipment during a crackdown in Whitehall against the company.
Meanwhile, MPs have urged the government to stop buying cameras and other security systems.
Hikvision, which is partially owned by the Chinese government, is blacklisted in the US.
In a letter to campaigners from Big Brother Watch, a civil liberties campaign group, the DWP said: “Over the next three years, the department will be conducting a capital investment program to update and upgrade its physical security systems.
“The ministry will not use security camera equipment manufactured in China as part of this program.”
According to a Freedom of Information request released last year, the DWP has installed 194 cameras in 51 locations.
A Hikvision spokesperson told: the Telegraph: “It should be clear that Hikvision does not respond directly to public tenders.
“Like all manufacturers, we sell through distribution partners and not directly to the end user. Public procurements, which follow a strict procurement process, are with installers.
“In the case of the DWP, one of our partners was invited to bid on the contract in a fair trial. On this occasion, they came second in a highly competitive tender process.
“This was done in the same way as any other public tender offer, Hikvision was not disqualified on the basis of nationality.
“It is important to note that this is not a sudden rip-and-replace – all tenders take time to comply with the correct procedure, the DWP tender in question is no exception.
“While our partner did not win this particular project, they have since been assigned a number of smaller installations.”
Big Brother Watch said the decision to remove Hikvision cameras from the DWP was “a hugely welcome development that couldn’t come soon enough”.
They added: “Given the role Hikvision plays in the ongoing brutal oppression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
These surveillance companies have no place in the UK and it is a shame that taxpayers’ money is funding companies so closely linked to genocide.”
The Standard has contacted the DWP for comment.