Identity Cards Bill

The whole purpose of the Gateway process is that if issues are identified as needing to be dealt with, they are dealt with appropriately before the relevant project continues. That gives an opportunity for reflection, change and improved delivery. We understand the process and the need for care, not least because—my noble friends have mentioned this—the Passport Office has been subject to criticism in the past. Those criticisms were taken seriously and were dealt with. The service that we now have from the Passport Office is supposed to be, and is acknowledged to be, excellent. It is second to none and is secure. I remind the Committee that it is proposed—as the noble Lord, Lord Selsdon, indicated—that passports with biometric data contained therein will be available next year. Much of the work that we had to do to prepare for the delivery of that project has been done, and will continue to be done, as it has to be delivered whether or not we have an ID card scheme. We have also recruited experienced individuals from the public and private sectors to deliver the identity cards scheme. The Government’s Biometrics Advisory Group will review biometric aspects of the identity cards programme. Sir David King, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, will chair the Biometrics Advisory Group, which is being established as a panel of internationally eminent specialists in biometrics and related technologies. The Home Office also has its own Centre of Expertise in Biometrics led by the recently appointed Home Office chief biometric officer. To complement all this, an independent assurance panel will cover project management, finance, procurement and the other aspects of the programme not covered by the Biometric Assurance Group. It will be chaired by Alan Hughes, a former chief executive of First Direct Bank. The rest of the panel will be made up of people with a similar level of expertise and experience in their field. My noble friend Lord Foulkes, among others including noble Lords opposite, asked me to speak of the benefits of the Bill. We have always maintained that the benefits of the scheme outweigh the costs and that, if that situation changed, as my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has said:"““No government is going to be introducing ID cards if the cost to the public is seen by them as unreasonable””." On the public and their interests, I affirm what has been said by a number of my noble friends regarding the way in which the public view this matter. We produced in October a document entitled Identity Cards: an assessment of awareness and demand for the Identity Cards Scheme.I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, will get his very own copy of it after this debate. I am more than happy to ensure that a number of copies of the document are put in the Library or in the relevant office so that they can be collected. I affirm that that document contains an indication that, as a number of my noble friends have indicated, there is a thirst for ID cards, notwithstanding the concern that some have raised about costs. The national identity register will provide a secure, reliable method by which—