Immigration Controls: Biometrics
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has conducted any assessments of potential racial, disabilities, or other equalities biases in the use of Facial Age Estimation technology in immigration enforcement contexts.
Answered by Alex Norris
Throughout 2026, Facial Age Estimation technology will undergo rigorous testing and subject to further decision making, is expected to first be implemented in 2027 for small boat arrivals at Western Jet Foil, where quick decisions are critical.
Extensive testing has already been carried out across diverse groups, including different ethnicities, genders and age ranges, indicating promising performance and accuracy. Further testing is ongoing.
Equalities impacts are being considered through ongoing testing, independent analysis and policy development, in line with legal advice and public sector equality duty obligations.
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) - world leading in establishing the most accurate metrology standards, science and technology, has been commissioned to carry out the independent review of testing and trial reports produced by the Home Office.
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