ID to cost [UK Pounds]39
7 July 2003

UK Cabinet ministers are considering plans to charge [UKP]39 
for a biometric ID card  

Home Secretary David Blunkett wants each UK citizen over 16 to buy 
a biometric ID card costing [UKP]39, according to a reports of a 
leaked Cabinet document on 6 July 2003.  

The document confirms that Blunkett has shelved the original plan for a 
"entitlement card" to access public services in favour of an ID card. The 
card would contain biometric data u likely to be an image of a person's 
iris -- and could also incorporate passport and driving license 
information.  

The Treasury estimates that the basic cost of the card would be [UKP]33 
per person but the price would increase to u39 to compensate for people 
entitled to discounted or free cards. Those on benefits or who are retired 
would pay [UKP]5, while the over 75s would pay nothing.  

Blunkett is expected to make a formal announcement about ID cards 
to the House of Commons later in July 2003 after proposals have been 
cleared by the cabinet. Legislation is scheduled to follow in the autumn. 

According to a report in the Sunday Times, in his leaked letter dated 25 
June, Blunkett hit out at civil rights campaigners and said that people 
favoured ID cards over entitlement cards.   

"I believe that the case for introducing a universal identity card in 
the UK is overwhelming," he said in the letter officially addressed 
to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, as chairman of the domestic 
affairs cabinet committee.  

"The consultation exercise showed strong public support for a card 
scheme and a preference for the term 'identity card' rather than 
'entitlement card'.  

"The argument that identity cards will inhibit our freedoms is wrong. 
We are strengthened in our liberty if our identity is protected from 
theft, if we are able to access the services we are entitled to, and 
if our community is better protected from terrorists and organised 
criminals.  

"There is a highly organised minority who will campaign vocally against 
a scheme. However, the identity card I am proposing would not be used 
to store large amounts of personal data to which government departments 
or agencies would have unfettered access. There will be strict limits on 
what is held on the card, and what information different agencies can 
access via the card and the central database. Privacy will be protected, 
as it is in other advanced democracies that have identity cards.  

"Nor will it be compulsory for people to carry a card, though as now with 
driving licences, the police or other agencies could require its production 
as a secure proof of identity in strictly defined circumstances. It will be 
important to reinforce these messages continually during the debate on 
legislation."  

Critics have said that the costs of the cards could be much higher, 
however. The Foundation for Information Policy Research has said that 
independent estimates put the cards at around [UKP]100.   

                            -==-

Source: KableDIRECT
Publication date: 07/07/2003 03:50:27 PM

http://www.kablenet.com/


Cheers, Steve..

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