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graham enzk · 27th June 2005, 08:30 AM

Monday 27 June 2005 07:25am

ID cards cost 'could reach £18bn'

A national identity card scheme could cost up to £18 billion, a team of academics is expected to warn.

The report by experts from the London School of Economics (LSE) will provide more ammunition for critics of the scheme, who are voicing a wide range of concerns about the proposals.

Sceptics are warning that ID cards could become New Labour's poll tax.

Ministers are steeling themselves for a tough battle over the project, with MPs getting their first chance to vote on the proposals since the election when the Identity Card Bill gets its second reading in the Commons tomorrow.

Labour backbenchers look unlikely to rebel in sufficient numbers to defeat the Government, but peers seem certain to table a raft of amendments which could radically alter the scheme when the Bill reaches the Lords.

The LSE's detailed report on the scheme's feasibility rounds off a six-month study which involved a steering group of 14 professors, and a research group of nearly 100 academics, experts, and industry representatives from around the world.

In March, the LSE's draft report estimated that the project could cost between £12 billion and £18 billion over 10 years. Basing their calculations on those figures, some commentators then estimated that cards could cost citizens £300 each.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke dismissed that as "a complete nonsense figure", restating that the Government estimated an "indicative" unit cost of around £93. While emphasising that its report had not suggested an individual card figure, the LSE team stood by its estimate for the overall cost.

They said that figure took into account the costs of integrating the project with public sector bodies - a factor which, they said, had not been assessed by the Government.

Ahead of the report's publication, the Government's most immediate concern was to rebut a suggestion that the Government could sell personal details stored on the supporting database to help meet the huge costs.

(c) Copyright Press Association Ltd 2005, All Rights Reserved.

so it might cost us anywhere between £93 (which is unit cost i noted not the actual charge) and £300. so what happens if you can't actually afford one?

27th June 2005, 08:30 AM	#38 (permalink)
graham enzk Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: back in the day Posts: 2,778 Band: condition21, ultramegaholocausticwhi rlwindzombiedeathsquad , utter fucking hate, distorted noise, tin pot hippies, spiteful	Monday 27 June 2005 07:25am ID cards cost 'could reach £18bn' A national identity card scheme could cost up to £18 billion, a team of academics is expected to warn. The report by experts from the London School of Economics (LSE) will provide more ammunition for critics of the scheme, who are voicing a wide range of concerns about the proposals. Sceptics are warning that ID cards could become New Labour's poll tax. Ministers are steeling themselves for a tough battle over the project, with MPs getting their first chance to vote on the proposals since the election when the Identity Card Bill gets its second reading in the Commons tomorrow. Labour backbenchers look unlikely to rebel in sufficient numbers to defeat the Government, but peers seem certain to table a raft of amendments which could radically alter the scheme when the Bill reaches the Lords. The LSE's detailed report on the scheme's feasibility rounds off a six-month study which involved a steering group of 14 professors, and a research group of nearly 100 academics, experts, and industry representatives from around the world. In March, the LSE's draft report estimated that the project could cost between £12 billion and £18 billion over 10 years. Basing their calculations on those figures, some commentators then estimated that cards could cost citizens £300 each. Home Secretary Charles Clarke dismissed that as "a complete nonsense figure", restating that the Government estimated an "indicative" unit cost of around £93. While emphasising that its report had not suggested an individual card figure, the LSE team stood by its estimate for the overall cost. They said that figure took into account the costs of integrating the project with public sector bodies - a factor which, they said, had not been assessed by the Government. Ahead of the report's publication, the Government's most immediate concern was to rebut a suggestion that the Government could sell personal details stored on the supporting database to help meet the huge costs. (c) Copyright Press Association Ltd 2005, All Rights Reserved. so it might cost us anywhere between £93 (which is unit cost i noted not the actual charge) and £300. so what happens if you can't actually afford one?