§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement concerning the inclusion of photographs on driving licences; whether the photograph will be digitised and sent to the police national computer; and whether the photograph will be used for official or unofficial identification purposes.
§ Mr. Christopher ChopeThe DVLA is undertaking a feasibility study to determine how best to proceed with the initiative of including photographs on driving licences. Several strategic and administrative issues are being addressed including the technology available, costs and the data protection implications. The DVLA will seek the advice of the data protection registrar.
Police have access to the driver licensing records for law enforcement purposes under the terms of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Schedule 34(5)a of the Data Protection Act 1984 removes any data protection restriction on such statutory disclosure. If photographs of drivers were to form part of those records, then the police will have access to them under the same terms, subject to consultation with the data protection registrar.
A driving licence is a document which indicates an individual's entitlement to drive. It is not, nor is it intended that it should be, an identity document. The law does not require drivers to carry their licence with them and there are no plans to change this.