Passport Service to take up data sharing scheme

Data sharing systems to help confirm the identity of passport applicants are to be rolled out across the country following a successful trial, according to the UK Passport Service (UKPS).

The Personal Identity Project (PIP) pilot started at the Glasgow passport office in October 2003. It tested the process of verifying applicant identity against various public and private sector databases, including the Equifax credit reference agency and data held by the Department for Work and Pensions, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and Office of National Statistics.

‘Applicants’ details are checked against various data sources to confirm the existence of a “social footprint”, and that the name, address and other details previously given to other organisations match those given to the Passport Service,’ says a UKPS report published this week.

The PIP system checks the information provided by an applicant against external data sources and uses a decision engine to assess the results. More than 85 per cent of identities were immediately confirmed by the system. Those not confirmed are flagged red for further examination.

The pilot was intended to test the concept and capacity of the system rather than its ability to spot fraud, but all but one of the 35 deliberately false applications were coded red, says UKPS.

‘We believe there is a pressing need for an improved integrated system of identity authentication,’ said UKPS chief executive Bernard Herdan.

‘In combination, PIP, the first-time application interview requirement and the incorporation of biometrics in passports will provide a powerful weapon in the fight against passport fraud.’

The UKPS is working on several projects that overlap with the government’s plans for national identity cards. The use of third-party data sources to authenticate identities is a feature of the ID card legislation being considered by MPs, and work on biometric passports will also cross over into the ID cards scheme.