2,500 people to test ID card biometrics

The Home Office has outlined plans to test the accuracy of its biometric technology on 2,500 citizens just days after MPs voted in favour of the ID cards bill.

The details are contained in 'market-sounding' documents on the ID cards procurement strategy inviting IT suppliers to help the Home Office shape the form of contracts that could be worth between £5bn and £19bn.

Even though the bill has to be approved by the House of Lords before it is given Royal Assent, Home Office minister Tony McNulty said the market-sounding process is "in no way pre-judging the outcome of the parliamentary process" before adding it is necessary so that ID cards can be implemented "without undue delay once Royal Assent is granted".

To test enrolment and verification performance of the biometric systems the Home Office plans to recruit around 2,100 people who are "reasonably representative of the working population of the UK" and another 300 people representative of "persons whose biometrics may be more challenging to record".

The plan is then to test fingerprint matching capabilities using one to two million sets of fingerprint images.

The market-sounding document goes on to detail how the Home Office anticipates the central National Identity Register will be capable of holding more than 100 million records that will be used for an estimated 163 million ID verification transactions each year from 265 government departments and up to 44,000 private sector organisations.

In an accompanying questionnaire IT suppliers are also invited to express their views on the biometric technology proposed for the ID card scheme with the Home Office saying that any criticisms won't affect the supplier's ability to compete when it does go out to tender.

The document states: "This exercise is designed solely to help the [ID Cards] Programme understand the market's reaction to its current thinking on the procurement strategy."

IT industry body Intellect said it supports the market-sounding exercise. Nick Kalisperas, public sector director at Intellect, said in a statement: "Only through a comprehensive understanding of the industry, its capacity and its capabilities will the government be in a position to develop an ID card scheme capable of delivering on its promises to citizens."

But the Home Office also adds an almighty get-out clause at the end of the market-sounding document saying that as the information is preliminary and subject to change "no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by the Home Office or any of its advisors as to the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of such information within this presentation".