Identity card scheme will not mandate fingerprint readers

A proliferation of different fingerprint reading machines will be used in government programmes

Standardised readers will not be mandated by the IPS

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) will not mandate the use of any particular type of hardware for collecting biometrics under the National Identity Scheme.

A report by the Biometric Assurance Group to the IPS has noted that a proliferation of different fingerprint reading machines will be used in government programmes.

But the IPS said that it will only mandate accuracy standards, not specific technology.

"In the case of fingerprints, image data and quality standards are imposed rather than mandating hardware choices as this brings its own problems," the group was advised by the IPS.

In March the IPS announced that it will encourage the private sector to collect fingerprints on behalf of the agency rather than doing so itself, likening the process to buying a passport photograph.