The Home Office has abandoned plans to combine biometric
national identity cards with passports and driving licences
following criticisms that the scheme was poorly thought
out.
The Home Office said it would press ahead with a standalone
biometric ID card that would be
issued alongside a biometric passport to head off concerns about
the complexity of the technology.
The turnaround follows criticisms from the Home Affairs Select
Committee that the government’s original decision to combine
biometric passports and ID cards locked it into technology
standards that may be inappropriate for an ID card.
In a 40-page response to the committee, the government said it
would arrange for the whole
ID programme to be independently assessed, including a review of
the business case, technical requirements and procurement
methods.
"The aims of this programme are to provide confidence to key
stakeholders that the programme can deliver to time, cost and
quality," it said.
The report revealed that the government’s national programme for
IT will install infrastructure across the NHS to check ID cards,
although the number of card readers needed would be decided
locally.
The Department of Work and Pensions has estimated that it would
need 4,500 card readers. Other government departments, including
Education, Customs and Excise and the Immigration and Nationality
Directorate, are investigating how many readers they would
need.
The Home Office, which has been criticised for failing to
produce a regulatory impact assessment of ID cards, said it would
publish an assessment along with the ID card bill, which is
expected to be announced in the next Queen’s speech.