§ Dr. HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the relevance of the expertise of United Kingdom Passport Agency staff to work involved in any national identity card scheme which he is considering announcing. [20767]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerI am well aware of the valuable expertise which the Passport Agency has available in considering applications for and issuing identity documents in the form of British passports. Consequently, my officials have kept closely in touch with the Passport Agency in preparing the forthcoming Green Paper on identity cards.
§ Dr. HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the estimated costs of introducing comprehensive identity card schemes for the United Kingdom utilising(a) a smart card capable of being processed by electronic equipment and (b) a standard paper document. [20770]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerTo establish a separate comprehensive identity card scheme covering all the adult population has been estimated to cost in the region of £600 million or possibly more depending on the type of scheme. These costs could be substantially lower if the card were associated with an existing form of official documentation. The precise cost would depend on the detailed arrangements, including the type of card—a "smart" card incorporating an electronic chip could cost up to £5 to produce compared with up to £1 for an ordinary plastic photocard—and the nature of the scheme.
My right hon. and learned Friend will be publishing a consultation document on identity cards shortly which will contain some estimates of costs of different kinds of schemes.