The company that built the [1]faulty Post Office Horizon software is in
line to run a nationwide digital ID card scheme to be used in pubs and
supermarkets.
Fujitsu is expected to be granted a contract to handle an incoming
system despite a pledge not to bid for new government business.
The Telegraph understands that the company was given preferred bidder
status in January 2023 – before the Horizon scandal [2]resurfaced at
the start of this year.
Hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly convicted as a result of faults
with the Fujitsu Horizon system used in Post Offices from 1999 onwards.
In January, Fujitsu admitted that staff had known about bugs and errors
for years and apologised for its role in the scandal.
The company said in January that it [3]would not seek public sector
contracts for the next two years as a penance for the Horizon scandal.
Fujitsu said the tender process for the digital ID project began before
it made the commitment.
Fujitsu is expected to be granted a contract to handle an incoming
system that would scan [4]digital IDs to check smartphone owners’ ages,
meaning they do not need a driving licence or passport.
The Government is consulting on legal changes that would allow digital
ID cards stored on a smartphone to be used when buying alcohol from
shops, pubs and self-service tills.
Multiple companies will be able to issue the IDs but a single company
is likely to provide the software to verify them through a smartphone
app or barcode scanner.
The three-year contract is believed to be worth less than £1m in total
but providing the technology could be useful when selling hardware such
as supermarket tills, which is a significant business for Fujitsu.
The contract is being handled by the Proof of Age Standards Scheme
(PASS), a Home Office-endorsed body that will handle the digital ID
system.
PASS is a private company funded by the age verification industry,
meaning that taxpayer money is not involved.
However, PASS is seen as a de facto regulator and the contract
describes the system as “in effect strategically important national
infrastructure”.
Fujitsu said: “The tender process for this work started in May 2022 and
Fujitsu submitted a bid in response to the tender in June 2022. The
tender process and being selected as preferred bidder pre-dated the
guidelines that Fujitsu has put in place regarding bidding for new work
with customers in the public sector.”
It is understood that rival companies are considering a potential
contingency bid if Fujitsu’s role delivering the technology becomes
untenable.
The Age Verification Providers’ Association (AVPA), the industry body
for age verification which includes Fujitsu among its members, said
PASS should consider the findings of the public inquiry into the Post
Office scandal when making its decision. The inquiry’s findings are
expected later this year.
An AVPA spokesman said: “We have worked with the Proof of Age Standards
Scheme to reach a consensus across industry for the best technical
mechanism to enable digital IDs, certified by PASS, to be universally
accepted in any supermarket, pub or casino in the UK.
“Using digital methods for age verification, both in person and for
self-service tills, will not only be welcomed by a smartphone
generation but also dramatically improve compliance rates and reduce
the risk of conflict with staff.
“Fujitsu emerged in 2022 as the industry’s preferred supplier through
an open competition, but any decision to award a contract is for PASS,
and we would expect their board to consider the findings of the public
inquiry as part of their due diligence.”
References
1.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/10/post-office-scandal-horizon-ongoing-demand-money-fault/
2.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/01/21/post-office-horizon-scandal-fujitsu-uk-it-problems/
3.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/18/fujitsu-no-bids-government-contracts-post-office-inquiry/
4.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/12/16/bt-plots-role-digital-successor-id-card-scheme/
