The first major parliamentary debate on the government's ID cards legislation will take place in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The second reading of the bill, proposed by home secretary Charles Clarke last month, is the earliest opportunity for MPs to discuss the principles behind the legislation. The plan was first introduced by former home secretary David Blunkett last year, but the bill?s progress through parliament was stalled by the General Election.
Parliamentary insiders are expecting a bumpier passage this time because the Conservatives have withdrawn their support and Labour has a much-reduced majority. A rebellion of just 33 government MPs would derail the plan - only 14 more than voted against the bill last time.
The ID cards scheme has attracted controversy since the bill was introduced. A report published by the London School of Economics earlier this month criticised the scheme?s complexity and suggested costs could rise as high as £300 per card.
And last week Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair told a meeting of the London Assembly that, while he supported the scheme in principle, questions remain about the IT and biometrics it will rely on.
'What we have to get right is the technology behind it,' he said.
ID cards are just one of a series of technology-enabled programmes at the heart of the Home Office?s plans for the coming year, according to details published this week.
Substantial progress towards criminal justice IT, linking the prison and probation systems, and development of the eBorders electronic immigration checking system are also priorities.
Making the best use of technology is described by the department as a key theme of its investment strategy. It claims the recently-signed Immigration and Nationality Directorate IT deal with supplier Atos will make savings of £130m over six years.
Autor: Sarah Arnott
Quelle: Computing, 22.06.2005
