Contract awarded for next generation of passports
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Issued 11/06/2009
The next generation of British passports will be delivered under a new
£400 million contract announced today.
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has announced De La Rue has won
the contract to produce the new British passport book.
The passport, which will be available from October 2010, will have a
new design and improved security features including the capacity to hold
fingerprint biometrics. It will give citizens added protection from
identity theft and help secure borders against passport and identity
fraud.
The contract will ensure the British passport keeps pace with the most
advanced international standards for travel documents.
James Hall, Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service, said:
"The British passport is recognised as one of the best in the world and
we want to keep it that way. Today we are affirming our commitment to
making this travel document more secure than ever by using fingerprint
biometrics.
"Upgrading the British passport is essential to keep pace with the most
advanced international standards for travel documents and will ensure that
British citizens have the freedom to travel easily worldwide.
"De La Rue has shown it is superbly placed to deliver this large
project and we are delighted they are working with us."
The procurement process for the contract started with 20 prospective
bidders in June 2008, before De La Rue was awarded the £400 million
contract to design and produce the next generation passport.
James Hussey, CEO of De La Rue, said:
"The Identity and Passport Service was looking for a partner it could
rely on to deliver the complete service for the UK passport. As a British
company, producing passports and identity documents for over 50
governments, De La Rue is proud to be selected to bring its expertise to
this project. This contract further reinforces De La Rue's strong growth
in the identity sector."
NOTES
1. During the past two years, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS)
has successfully introduced a range of procedures and systems to prevent
identity and passport fraud. In March 2006 we launched one of our most
important counter-fraud initiatives, the biometric passport.
The biometric passport was given a new design and improved security
features which were not present on previous passports, including intricate
designs, complex watermarks and a chip antenna.
2. The next generation passport will allow safer international travel
for all British citizens and will support our immigration system to
protect our borders. The passport will contain new design and enhanced
security features - we want the UK to continue as world leaders in
passport security and design.
3. IPS issued two contracts earlier this year:
* the Application and Enrolment (A&E) contract to replace our
current passport application processing system which is about to come to
the end of its life; and
* the National Biometric Identity Service (NBIS) contract to provide a
database to support the introduction of biometric passports and ID cards
and replace existing biometric databases used by UKBA.
The contract announced today will last for ten years.
4. This Design and Production Contract forms part of the wider National
Identity Service which by the latest estimates will cost £4.9bn over ten
years to deliver. To find out more about the National Identity Service
visit http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/publications-general.asp
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