Tories to back plans for ID cards
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The Tories are to back controversial government plans to introduce ID cards in the UK, the party has said.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.K. is delaying the start of the procurement process for the IT systems that will eventually issue ID cards for an estimated 50 million U.K. citizens over the next decade. A "major" procurement process was set to begin, but "we're not quite ready yet," said James Hall, chief executive of the U.K. Identity and Passport Service, which is in charge of the ID card project. Hall spoke Monday at the Gartner Inc. identity management conference in London. Hall did not say when procurement would start. The delay confirmsÂ doubts that surfaced a year ago about whether the ID card project could be kept on the government's schedule. A leaked memo released about year ago written by an official in Prime Minister's Tony Blair government outlined ongoing worries about whether the first ID cards could be delivered by 2008, in keeping with the government's schedule. The memo cited concerns over procurement, costs and program management. The U.K. government has several large IT projects under way, including a massive IT revamp of its National Health Service (NHS), which has also fallen under criticism for delays and difficulties with suppliers. The ID card program will cost an estimated Â£5.4 billion (US$10.6 billion), according to the Home Office. Once the ID card project is under way, the U.K. government will issue cards to citizens as they apply for a new passport. The ID card program met wide opposition over privacy concerns, but the government hopes the cards will enhance national security, reduce benefits fraud and strengthen immigration controls. The cards will be issued to those over 16 years old. Hall said it's hoped that businesses will embrace the national ID card as a form of identity, as long as it meets its goals of security and privacy. Hall, a 30-year veteran of Accenture Ltd., admitted he was initially a "skeptic" of the ID project at first, but now is a "passionate believer." "If we get this right, we can actually deliver some huge benefits," Hall said. Â
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Tony Blair says fingerprints collected for ID cards will be cross checked against crime scene prints.
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Foreigners wanting to work in the UK will face mandatory health checks under plans unveiled by the Tories.
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Prime Minister Tony Blair defended controversial plans to introduce identity cards in Britain, arguing they would help protect the nation from law-breakers.
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U.S. officials said they would unveil on Friday reasonable and inexpensive national requirements to implement an identification-card program critics call a costly invasion of privacy.
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Just in time for the Olympics The British government is delaying the roll out of the national ID card scheme to UK citizens, according to leaked documents obtained by the Tory party.â¦
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David Blunkett is criticised for preparing a marketing campaign for ID cards before MPs back them.
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Byrne's 'challenging targets' challenge belief Immigration minister Liam Byrne has concealed what looks like further ID card slippage and set himself a remarkably unchallenging series of immigration and border control targets in a "ten point plan" for 2008. Humorously described by the Home Office as "challenging", the plan consists largely of low targets, targets already achieved, and harder targets lobbed off into the middle distance.â¦
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Still horribly intrusive, though A Home Office minister has said the cost of the proposed ID card could be dramatically reduced if the government used its existing databases as a foundation for the scheme.â¦
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The U.K. government sees a national identity card now making its way through Parliament as a way to fight terrorism, but opponents see it as an expensive waste of time. By Wendy M. Grossman.
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Plans for a wider rollout of identity cards to British nationals appear to have been delayed for three years.
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Trust and inclusion foregrounded in desperate rescue plan Teachers and 16 year olds are the favoured 'soft targets' for the redesigned ID card scheme rollout, according to an Identity &amp; Passport Service planning document seen by The Register. As suggested in leaks last weekend, IPS now plans to soft-pedal fingerprints and - astoundingly - it seems on the point of abandoning the notion of forcing ID cards onto the public via passport renewals.â¦
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Straight answers not compulsory either For the third time in four days, Gordon Brown has sown doubts about the future of compulsory ID cards for UK citizens. Speaking at prime minister's question time today, Brown confirmed that it was "policy" for ID cards to become compulsory, but added the rider that this was subject to a vote in parliament.â¦
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MPs suggest compulsory cards may be shelved as Brown stresses it will be for parliament to decide
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Ministers face calls to bring in safeguards to protect people's privacy against the police DNA database.
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The U.S. government's plan to use RFID chips in a proposed passport card program for U.S. citizens is drawing fire from certain groups concerned it could undermine security and privacy.