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ID cards scheme under fire again
Blair stands firm but MPs and info commissioner weigh in...

By Andy McCue

Published: Friday 04 August 2006

The ID cards scheme has come under fire again after a report by a government committee expressed "great concern" about the lack of transparency and the cost and scope of the project.

The damning report by MPs on the government's Science and Technology Committee said the Home Office's approach to the ID cards scheme has been "inconsistent" and lacking in clarity, and warned that procurement may need to be delayed.

The committee said it is still unclear who has responsibility for the IT element of the ID cards programme, which appears to have been left to the private sector to determine.

The report said: "Such confusion has been exacerbated by the lack of transparency of the scheme. In addition, there is a lack of clarity regarding the overall scope of the scheme, the scenarios when the card might be used, the procurement process and the OGC [Office of Government Commerce] Gateway reviews."

The committee recommended the Home Office employ a systems architect and establish an ICT assurance committee to review proposed specifications, even if this means delays to the rollout of ID cards.

The report added: "We reiterate that once trials commence, if the evidence gathered indicates the need for changes in the programme, such changes should be made even if the timescale of the project is extended in consequence."

Data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office has also hit out again at the secrecy surrounding the ID card scheme in upholding two Freedom of Information complaints against the OGC's refusal to publicly release the ID cards Gateway Reviews.

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Richard Thomas said releasing details of the reviews is in the public interest and would not prejudice the OGC's ability to carry out its functions.

The criticisms come as Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to make ID cards a key plank of Labour's next election manifesto.

In his monthly press conference, Blair said: "Whatever adjustments are made because of technical issues to do with the technology of introducing it and so on, do not be under any doubt at all that this is a major, major issue for us and will be a major plank of the Labour Party's manifesto at the next election, and that is for a very simple reason. If people want to track illegal migration and organised crime in this country you have got to have identity cards. Any other solution simply will not work."

But Phil Booth, national co-ordinator of the No2ID campaign group, said: "For Tony Blair to start writing a manifesto for an election in which he won't even stand as an MP smacks of sheer desperation. Scrabbling for some sort of legacy, he's trying to lumber his successor with the millstone of his bankrupt and delusional ID policies."