ID card scheme rises by £160m

Published on Thursday 7 May 2009 00:32

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.