The controversialID cardsproject could be dropped as the government
starts to look at cutting public expenditure in the wake of the
recession.
Cabinet ministers have started looking at public spending cuts,
with the ID project high on the list of possibilities.
A £175bn budget deficit is expected by the end of this financial
year, and Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said
scrapping ID cards would be one of a range of measures necessary to
plug the deficit.
The ID cards project is already fairly well advanced leading to
some questions over how much money it might save.
IT management expert Colin Beveridge said some suppliers may
have written in clauses to their contracts that would ensure
compensation if the scheme was cancelled. The clauses are designed
to deter cancellation on change of government.
"If so, once again, the major winners will be the technology
providers and the major losers will be the taxpayers," he said.
The Home Office has denied that the scheme will be dropped, but
the BBC reports that chancellor Alistair Darling is speaking to
ministers about identification of possible cuts in their
departments.
The government's most recent report on ID cards, in June, set
out its plans to continue rolling out the scheme. The Safeguarding
Identity Strategy says the Identity and Passport Service is leading
the development of an identity services strategy.
It says, "The vision for the NIS is that it will become an
essential part of everyday life; underpinning interactions and
transactions between individuals, public services and businesses
and supporting people to protect their identity."