§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the benefits of requiring the carrying of smartcards by persons seeking access to Government services. [91718]
§ Mr. KilfoyleThere is no intention that people should be obliged to carry smartcards to obtain general access to public services. However, the experience of the private sector shows that smartcards can be popular and effective. The Government is interested in the benefits which smartcards can offer both for secure authentication and the enhancement of privacy.
134W
Civil servants by Department, responsibility level1 and gender, 1 April 1998 SCS G6/G7 SEO/HEO EO AO AA Total Department M W M W M W M W M W M W M W Advisory, Conciliation & Arbitration Service 2— 2— 25 2— 225 143 39 73 30 97 6 11 330 328 Agriculture 101 15 568 119 1,753 826 1,515 885 891 1,562 615 1,076 5,443 4,483 Cabinet Office 103 28 212 78 334 137 204 215 179 318 88 102 1,120 878 Charity Commission 8 2— 19 13 73 64 65 105 46 78 27 28 238 290 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal 29 5 137 147 24 25 47 110 60 193 83 313 380 793 Crown Prosecution Service 42 5 1,081 864 187 228 348 936 331 994 137 633 2,126 3,660 Culture, Media & Sport 13 8 48 24 94 45 157 81 56 53 13 19 381 230 Customs and Excise 65 8 363 91 4,912 1,559 5,051 3,147 2,376 3,448 1,244 1,848 14,011 10,101 Defence 358 26 4,090 351 17,816 3,104 12,923 4,479 8,993 12,119 5,153 7,785 49,333 27,864 Education and Employment 115 35 467 209 1,769 1,431 3,918 9,044 4,204 13,229 530 1,006 11,003 24,954 Environment, Transport & the Regions 206 47 1,089 217 2,123 767 2,912 1,148 1,638 3,049 821 1,824 8,789 7,052 Export Credits Guarantee Department 16 2— 47 11 85 27 57 36 31 41 16 23 252 140 FCO: Diplomatic Service 413 30 519 140 1,151 319 774 622 512 770 146 98 3,515 1,979 Friendly Societies, Registry of 10 2— 14 5 31 7 18 18 13 24 9 2— 95 57 within the remit of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, will be laid before the Parliamentary Ombudsman.