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ID card scheme rises by £160m

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Published Date: 07 May 2009
THE cost of the controversial ID card scheme has gone up by £160 million to about £5 billion.
Official figures were released as it was announced Manchester would be the first test area for Britons wanting ID cards.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the cards would provide security and convenience for people out to protect identities.

The cards, which store fingerprint information as well as a facial scan, would replace the "hotch-potch" of different IDs currently in use, she said.

Mancunians will be able to apply for cards from autumn this year before they go nationwide in 2012.

Estimates put the price to the taxpayer of biometric ID cards and passports for UK citizens at £4,945m, up from £4,785m.

A spokesman for the Identity and Passport Service denied that costs had increased.





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  • Last Updated: 06 May 2009 11:47 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Identity cards
 
1

Fred Leeson,

edinburgh 07/05/2009 00:43:58
Heck £5Bn down the drain. And I thought we were a bit tight for cash. The Tories and Lib Dems are opposed to ID cards and have pledged to scrap them. So with Labour due to be sent into oblivion at the next election I think stupidGordon and JackbootJacqui should be held liable for this gross waste of taxpayers money.
2

gus1940,

Edinburgh 07/05/2009 08:21:40
I can just picture the thousands of Mancunians queuing round the block to spend £60 on ID cards -NOT.

Hundreds will be killed in the rush.
3

SouthernSkye,

07/05/2009 15:18:40
gus1940
I thought the charge was going to be around £30...but, whatever, it matters not. As you say, I can see a mass of people crowding the office in order to pay for something the already have (in one form or another).
Interesting that the story misses out that particular bit of info...The cost of the card and, instead, tells us

...."Mancunians will be able to apply for cards from autumn this year before they go nationwide in 2012...."

As if it were free!
Waste of time and money. End of 2010 the next Govt will have scrapped them.
4

Fred Leeson,

edinburgh 07/05/2009 15:39:31
#4
As with most things this government does the devil is in the detail. It's £30 to the government and £30 to the retailer to cover their expenses ( setting up eye scanners or whatever ).
In reality they should offer us money for our biometric data. How much to start up a new identity if your biometric data is stolen ? Which it probably will be. A fresh start would cost a million quid at least. New country, job, housing etc.

 

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