The government is planning to use databases of personal
information from government departments and the private sector to
carry out background checks on UK passport holders and
applicants.
The Passport Service plans to link with credit reference
agencies, whose databases contain details of the names and ages of
residents at all UK addresses, phone numbers, county court
judgements and addresses of employers.
Other identity systems will compare photographs of passport
holders against photographs contained in watch-lists of suspected
criminals and "high-risk individuals". These initiatives will pave
the way for the introduction of biometric ID cards in 2007.
The plans are part of a crackdown on criminals and terrorists
trying to obtain passports and driving licenses under false
identities and will mean an expansion in government data
sharing.
The measures taken by the Passport Service will be introduced
across other government departments, said Bernard Herdan, chief
executive of the Passport Service.
"Actions taken by the Passport Service to strengthen identity
verification will be replicated as best practice by the DVLA and
any other government organisation that wants to establish
identities," he said.
Passport Service documents show that the government plans to
give it new powers to carry out computerised background checks on
passport applicants.
The powers will form part of the draft Identity Cards Bill,
which is due out later this year.
The Passport Service plans to work with a private sector partner
to create an identity verification service using commercial
databases that will be made available to other government
departments.
The verification service will provide rapid automatic checks
into the address details and "social footprint" of people applying
for passports and driving licences.
Trials are already under way with the Equifax credit reference
agency, which maintains databases of the UK population. The Driving
Vehicle Licensing Agency is running a pilot programme to check
details of driving license holders against databases held by the
Department of Work and Pensions.
The Passport Service plans to bolster the identity checks by
calling in passport applicants for personal interviews - a move it
said would reduce fraud.
The Home Office confirmed last year that the introduction of
biometrics would be paid for by raising the cost of passports from
£42 to £73 and driving licences from £38 to £73. But under the
latest proposals, the public could have to pay for new passports
every five years rather than every 10, effectively doubling the
price.
The shorter lifespan off passports will match the expected
lifespan of biometric chips and will enable the Passport Service to
change technologies more frequently to deter counterfeiters.
Passport Service paves way for ID cards >>