The Cornish Key project, a Java-based smartcard scheme for access
to public services aimed at combating social exclusion in Cornwall,
was officially launched last week.
Guy Ware, the Department for Transport, Local Government and the
Regions' Pathfinder project manager for the South West, said the
project had already been "a great success". He also raised hopes
for further funding when he announced that the department would
make a "significant tranche of money" available over the next few
years.
Ware admitted that more brokering was needed between the public and
private sectors on Pathfinder projects.
The Cornish Key card replaces existing cards in trial applications
during the first phase of the project, including prepayment for
school meals and electronic pupil registration; library services;
car parking; and concessionary bus passes.
The second phase will include e-purse facilities, e-voting and
health services.
The council hopes to involve 50,000 local people in the trial -
roughly 10% of its population - although only 2,000 have so far
come forward.
Earlier, Roy Cosway, the Cornish Key project manager for Cornwall
County Council, said some suppliers involved had been inflexible
and slow to deliver.
People who can prove residence in Cornwall can apply for a Cornish
Key card online. They can check their smartcard's status at local
council offices and libraries or buy their own card readers.