To ask Her Majesty's Government in respect of the decision by the UK Border Agency to fingerprint children from the age of six, what studies and trials they have conducted on the feasibility and effectiveness of fingerprinting children; whether these studies have been conducted over time to monitor the effect of changes in fingerprints as children grow; and whether issues have been identified concerning the cooperation of children with the process. [HL1580]

The requirement for fingerprints to be taken from the age of six comes from EU Regulation 380/2008. The requirement for this age group to give their fingerprints is applied across the whole of the EU.

The UKBA has many years of experience of taking fingerprints from children aged five and upwards, effectively and without difficulty, and the benefits have been wide ranging from helping to abate child trafficking to being able to reduce the number of fraudulent claims made for public funds.

As children grow, although the size of the area of the fingerprint will grow with age, the actual characteristics (and pattern) that make the fingerprint unique to the child and are used as a part of the identification process remain constant throughout life and do not change or alter with age. If superficial damage occurs the skin will grow back in exactly the same arrangement as at birth.

No issues have been identified concerning the co-operation of children with the process of fingerprinting. Many of the children will have already have given their fingerprints and photographs on earlier occasions in connection with a visa application for the UK or other countries. When evaluating the pilot scheme for the identity cards for foreign nationals, children followed the same quick, easy and clean (ink-free) process that they saw their parents follow and there was no evidence to suggest that children were adversely affected by the process.