By Andy McCue, 18 August 2006 12:45
NEWS
The government has revealed it has spent almost £50m on the controversial ID cards scheme before the project has even got off the ground.
In a written answer to a parliamentary question by Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Öpik, the Home Office said £46.4m had been spent on the ID cards scheme up to the end of May 2006 since the start of the financial year 2003/2004.
Öpik called it a "catastrophic waste of taxpayers' money" and said the £46.4m spent to date could have been better used to pay for more than 150 new police officers for 10 years.
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He said: "This is real money wasted on an unworkable scheme which won't achieve what the government claims."
Prime Minister Tony Blair said earlier this month ID cards will be a central plank of Labour's next election manifesto, despite delays in putting the identity cards contracts out to tender and leaked memos from a senior official at the Home Office claiming the project is heading for disaster with a lack of clear benefits to demonstrate a return on the investment.
Comments
There are 6 comments. Join the discussion
1. Graham Coles
Funny things happen with planks, in olden days they used to make people walk them.
I assume the government are prepared to show how this 50 million was all accounted for in their costings, but as they will doubtless continue to refuse to publish them, I guess we're supposed to take their word for it until they start exceeding it.
2. Richard
Blair be warned!
Portsmouth is ringed by 19th century forts, known popularly as “Palmerston's Follies.”
These state-of-the-art defences against fears of a French invasion were built at vast expense, incorporating the best engineering, materials and technology.
These “follies” were quickly overtaken by events; became irrelevant and obsolete, but proved impossible to remove.
Now, one hundred and forty years after Lord Palmerston's death, despite his long career as Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, with his penchant for “gunboat diplomacy,” many people remember him only for these expensive, irrelevant “follies.”
Blair be warned!
3. Ian Paterson
Only £50m? Is that all? Wow! Bargain!
Will they be doing 'buy-one-get-one-free' deals? It is already possible to clone the cards before they even hit the public so it's best to encourage customer loyalty early.
Every little helps you know.
4. Phil Darby
As an ex-pat Brit watching from the sidelines I just can't get my head around the costs to UK citizens of this and other outrageous ideas.
In Central and Eastern Europe everyone has had ID cards for as long as they can remember They aren't biometric (yet) but they do a basic job and cost them nothing. Having just paid £90 to renew my UK passport the ridiculousness of these costs was brought to mind by a feature in a Prgaue newspaper about Czechs being outraged at the proposed cost of their new biometric passports. Its something like £18.
However, what really made me think was that these Czech passports, which carry fingerprints as well as other data, which the UK ones don't, cost only £23 to make. I think its about time the Brits started asking some very serious questions about where all the money is going! And shouldn't somebody ask the Czechs where they are getting theirs from at 75% less cost than our suppliers are asking?
5. Graham Bland
Obviously what is needed are more consultants to control the costs and make sure we get value for money from this project.
I'm free at the moment
6. galley slave#41
Don't worry folks,
black market. cloned or Fred Bloggs specials will be available and work just as well and cost a lot less.
the chip is generic and the info can be what ever you want it to be.