ID Cards on Trial: More costs emerge

The Home Office has admitted it does not yet know how much it will charge people to carry a national identity card.

The cost of £93 for a passport and a biometric ID card given by the government in the regulatory impact assessment of the Identity Cards Bill last month was widely assumed by many to be the fee it will charge to citizens for carrying a card.

But Home Office minister Tony McNulty has now confirmed that figure is just the unit cost of producing a passport and ID card "based on 2005 to 2006 prices" and that the actual charge to each citizen for carrying one will depend on "future policy decisions".

In response to MPs' questions McNulty said: "The current best estimate of the unit cost of an adult passport/ID card package for UK citizens valid for 10 years is £93 at 2005 to 2006 prices. Clause 37 of the Identity Cards Bill gives the power for parliament to approve fees for the ID cards scheme. The actual amount charged to a person will depend on future policy decisions on charging within the scope allowed by the Bill."

The Home Office has, however, said that some of these costs will be met by private sector firms charged to use the national identity database verification service and that there will most likely be a concessionary ID card fee for some sections of society unable to meet the full cost.

The questionable cost of the £5.8bn ID card scheme is one of the key planks of silicon.com's ID Cards on Trial campaign, along with scope and technology issues.

We'll be bringing you more on our ID card campaign and how you can support it tomorrow.