The Department for Transport has cancelled the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's purchase of a facial-recognition system for checking driving-licence applications.
The department has withdrawn the tender for the development and implementation of a pilot that was intended to develop into a full system. The cancellation notice in the Official Journal of the European Union on Saturday reads: "This project has been withdrawn, due to the existing economic climate."
"The introduction of the facial-recognition pilot scheme has been postponed, but rigorous checks on all applications will continue," said a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) spokesperson.
"To maximise the detection of fraudulent applications, DVLA employs teams of highly trained, dedicated staff who apply rigorous checking standards to all applications for driving licences," the spokesperson added.
The original tender notice, published in May 2007, states: "The DVLA is seeking expressions of interest from suitable suppliers for the supply of hardware and software for the development and implementation of a pilot facial-biometric storage, search and matching system for facial images and the provision of related services."
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"Subject to the success of the pilot, the contract will cover the development, installation, maintenance and support of a larger, integrated operating system," the notice states.
A system of this kind is already used by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) for passport applications, checking photographs submitted against those already used in passports, to root out duplicate applications. DVLA has joined IPS in requiring applicants to have a neutral expression in their photos, to help facial-recognition systems work.
