Home Office aims to drive down cost of ID cards
Kablenet.com
Published: 23 Apr 2008 08:42 BST
Home Office minister Meg Hillier has said the government wants industry to help drive down the cost of ID cards to the public.
Hillier said that, although the public was largely supportive of the National Identity Scheme, many people had concerns about the fee involved.
The first cards will be issued at a charge of £30, but Hillier said that, as the volume issued increased, companies should be able to produce them more cheaply. She emphasised, however, that most of the cost of the scheme was created not by the cards themselves, but by databases and supporting systems.
"Cost is a very important part of this and I am pleased that the work we have done over the past year or so has meant that we have reduced the cost of the scheme by around £1bn," Hillier told a conference on document security in London on Tuesday.
Hillier said that some 60 percent of citizens are in favour of ID cards and that the percentage has remained steady, despite the huge data loss at HM Revenue and Customs. She predicted that, as ID cards are rolled out, people will realise the benefits of carrying them.
Sir James Crosby's recently published review on identity assurance suggested that the scheme would provide greater benefits for the public if the card was issued free of charge.
Philippe Martin, senior analyst at Kable, said: "I welcome the minister's aim of reducing the cost of the card, but the government must demonstrate the benefits of the ID scheme to citizens, such as accessing health and other services, if it wants widespread adoption."
ID theft is a growing problem and it is estimated that two percent of all UK adults are victims. Hillier gave the example of pensioner Jean Hutchinson who "hijacked" other peoples' identities in one of Britain's biggest benefit scams. The 65-year-old would look for newspaper stories about people who had emigrated and then use their identities. She defrauded the benefits system of £2.4m, before landing a five-year jail sentence.
"She would not have been able to do that if there had been ID cards," said Hillier .
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