The London School of Economics has called for an
independent review of the
government's ID
cards scheme, after it identified "discrepancies" in
the government's latest £5.31bn cost estimates
for the programme.
The LSE said that the credibility of the government's cost
estimates had been undermined by earlier errors, a failure to
assess the wider costs of ID cards across Whitehall, and the lack
of a full assessment of the impact of the project's redesign.
The
LSE's Analysis of Home Office Costs Report,
published this month, questions why the costs of the scheme have
risen by up to £800m, despite plans announced in December last year
to simplify the project.
The simplifications involved using existing government
databases, and dropping plans to take iris readings of the UK
population.
"The new strategic action plan should have reduced costs, but it
does not seem to have done so. That just does not make any sense,"
said Edgar Whitley, one of the report's authors.
The LSE said that the Home Office had failed to
take into account the potential complications of its simplified
ID cards scheme.
Under the revised programme the Home Office will store details
of the population on an existing Department for Works and Pensions
Customer Information System (CIS) database, rather than build a
dedicated population register from scratch.
However, Whitley said that the changes might require the DWP to
renegotiate contracts with existing IT suppliers at extra
expense.
The changes are also likely to place loads on the CIS database
that go beyond its original design specification, and extra
security would need to be built in to protect sensitive population
data.
"There are all sorts of complications that are likely to arise.
There is also the real issue that security was not built into that
system from the beginning. You are adding on security, which is a
dangerous way of doing things," Whitley said.
The Home Office said, "We are introducing the scheme
incrementally, building on existing programmes. Once in operation
the scheme will essentially be self-financing through fee
income."
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