Government support for PASS identification scheme welcomed

PASS has welcomed the Government’s support of the National Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) and has urged the licensed hospitality sector to support the scheme by accepting PASS cards in their venues.

The Home Office today launched a new campaign to encourage people to leave their passports at home and to rely upon other secure and recognised means of identification, in a bid to tackle passport fraud. Endorsing the scheme,

PASS Interim Chair (and ALMR Chief Executive) Kate Nicholls said:

“The PASS scheme is a fantastic, industry-driven scheme and it is one which we encourage retailers to support. The card itself is very secure with no successful forgeries to date. It is endorsed by the Home Office and we are encouraging venues to accept the card as the best method of ID. Phone-based apps for identification are proving flawed and insufficient against Home Office criteria, but PASS ticks every box.

“Not only are lost or damaged passports an inconvenience, they are enormously expensive to replace. Half of all lost passports, a considerable number, occur when holders take them to pubs, bars or nightclubs.

“There is an opportunity here for the sector to support its customers and to lead a fundamental change in attitudes regarding acceptable forms of ID. We echo the Home Office’s encouragement of customer to sign up to the scheme and leave their passports at home. This can only happen if there is widespread acceptance of PASS cards as the preferred form of ID across the UK.”