Report - Guardian

The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005 205“This drive towards secure identity is, of course, happening all overthe world. Under current plans, for example, from next autumn Britishtourists who need a new passport will have to get a biometric one tovisit the US or get a biometric visa. We will — rightly — have to bearthe costs of introducing the new technology to enhance our passportsanyway. We should take the opportunity of that investment to securewider benefits such as those I set out here.”As we have pointed out elsewhere in this report, the biometric passport and the identitycard are quite separate instruments. Below we show how the accounting for theseprojects seems to blur the boundaries.Mr Des Browne concluded the second reading of the Bill with a roundup responding toquestions of costs and passports.“Among other memorable moments was the admission by the hon.Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) that we need to spend money toput biometrics into passports. We now have the Liberal Democrats'support for that. Will he therefore now explain why he and hiscolleagues have been making an arithmetical calculation that takes allthat money out—[Interruption.] He says from a sedentary position thathis calculation is on top of that. I can do the arithmetic as well as hecan. The Liberal Democrats took the £450 million, which he now saysmust be spent on passports, added to that the £85 million, and the £50million for verification, multiplied it by 10, and have gone aroundtelevision and radio studios saying that the proposal will cost £5billion, plus, in some cases, the £85 for each individual. Perhaps nowwe shall hear some honesty about the arithmetic of that policy fromthe Liberal Democrats, so that we can have a proper debate.”...“The cost of biometric passports is estimated to be £415 million perannum by 2008–09. Reusing passport infrastructure for ID cards savesmoney on issuing both separately. The cost of introducing ID cards forUK citizens on top of passport cost is £85 million. We estimate anadditional £50 million per annum to provide verification services. Inaddition, as we set out in November 2003, we estimate set-up costs inthe first three years to be £186 million. There will be some additionalcosts beyond this period. We are continuing to work on theseestimates and will inform the House when we are in a position toprovide updated figures.” 479In March 2005 the Passport Office released its assessment of the likely rises in costs forpassports. As argued elsewhere in this report, the Government has confused theinternational passport requirements with the proposals for a national ID card. Thisconfusion has a substantial influence on costings.The Government intends to transform the Passport Office into a new department that isresponsible for Identity. According to the Home Office Minister:479 Hansard, December 20, 2004.