A good technical future ahead for ID Cards? Well, not really, after news in The Times today that the Home Office agency charged with issuing passports has withdrawn its on-line service after only 3 weeks because of computer problems, causing delays for 5,000 applicants. This is the department that will – if the ID Card scheme goes ahead – be responsible for issuing millions of cards, with more stringent data requirements, every year.
"The disclosure that the Siemens Business Services online system was withdrawn after operating for less than three weeks is a serious embarrassment to the Home Office.
"The Prime Minister and John Reid, the Home Secretary, have praised the Passport Agency as an area of government with high levels of customer satisfaction.
"The agency is also the organisation that is to develop the identity card scheme, which will involve issuing tens of millions of cards to British citizens."
[...]
"Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said that the latest disclosure was 'a terrible omen for the forthcoming identity cards scheme'.
"He said: 'If the Identity and Passports Service — supposedly the flagship of competent government IT procurement — can’t handle 18,000 applications, how will it ever be able to run a database of every British citizen, with millions of applications a year?'"
Quite. Meanwhile the Beeb reports that the process of going out to tender with contracts to develop the ID Card scheme – which software suppliers expected in March – has been put back indefinitely.
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