The contract is to make it harder for criminals, people who have been deported and those who have been turned down for a visa to enter the UK. It is also expected to save £50m.
Green said that the UK Border Agency will use the contract to build the new immigration and asylum biometric system.
He told the House of Commons: "This system will strengthen our ability to control the entry of foreign nationals into the United Kingdom and identify those who pose a risk to our country."
The £191m revised contact will enable the UKBA to "completely modernise" biometrics at UK borders. The new system is due to be delivered by IBM at the end of 2011, replacing a system first commissioned in 2000.
The system will support checking of biometric visas, asylum seeker registration cards and biometric residence permits. It also has the capacity to be expanded to cater for future immigration applications.
"The new system is faster, more accurate and more resilient," said Green.
The contract has been re-negotiated following the government's decision to abandon ID cards and halt work on second biometric passports.
Green said that the government has been reviewing the future of all contracts let in connection with second biometric passports and ID cards. He said: "One of the relevant contracts is for the provision of a database of fingerprints and facial images. This contract, titled the national identity assurance service (NIAS) also supports key UKBA initiatives for the control of immigration and asylum.
"UKBA has been able to save £50m from the contract price by removing components that stored data on UK nationals, and which are no longer needed."
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Quelle/Source: Public Service, 10.09.2010

