Oh dear: UK ID card scheme may be delayed

[The Lone Gunman]

This will be my first "Oh dear" so please excuse me if I get it slightly wrong. I hope I am not breaking anyones copyright or Trade Mark.

From the BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5168524.stm



Identity card scheme faces delay

The laws needed to introduce ID cards were passed this year

The UK's identity card scheme may have to be delayed, the government has said.

The Home Office said the 2008 launch date may change, following a review of the department ordered by the new Home Secretary John Reid.

The process of putting contracts to establish the scheme out to tender - which software suppliers expected in March - has been put back indefinitely.

Tony Blair says ID cards are needed to tackle terror and illegal immigration. Lib Dems and Tories oppose the scheme.

The latest news comes after leaked e-mails disclosed that civil servants had serious doubts about whether the scheme could be delivered.

The government had originally said it would phase in ID cards from 2008.

But a Home Office spokesman told the BBC: "We set a timetable for when ID cards would be introduced and that might change.

"That is dependent on the review that the home secretary is carrying out."

He added: "The timetable is very much secondary to the review the home secretary is carrying out.

"It is an incremental process and it will happen when the time is right."

The spokesman said there had been no date set for when contracts to set up the system would go out to tender but added: "There may have been an expectation they would go out to tender when the Bill was published, but we have said it will go out to tender when it was ready. We have not set a timetable."

Computer Weekly magazine says software suppliers expected the tender process to take place last March. The leaked documents, published by the Sunday Times, suggested the ID card plan could be scaled down as part of a "face saving exercise" so they could still start to be phased in from 2008. The leaked e-mails quote officials saying ministers were setting themselves up for failure and were "ignoring reality" by pressing ahead.

[xoggoth]

I never worry about anything beyond about 2016, that's when armaggedon arrives.

[DimPrawn]

Whatever happens we can be sure of the following:

1. It will be a scandalous waste of tax payers money.
2. Whatever the projected costs, the reality will be 10x that figure.
3. The worst performing suppliers will win the contracts. Most likely EDS, who will make some very large loans/donations to New Labour.
4. It will have 0% impact on terrorism.
5. Some enterprising criminals will find a way to make a lot of money out of it.
6. Everyone will moan about it, but still manage to vote Labour back into power.

[Ruprect]

7. They will hire a load of contractors to implement the system, who will milk it for bucketloads of tax payers cash, sit around all day surfing the web and whinging about inconsequential things on internet forums.

[DimPrawn]

Only if they hire me.

[pippo]

7. They will hire a load of contractors to implement the system, who will milk it for bucketloads of tax payers cash, sit around all day surfing the web and whinging about inconsequential things on internet forums.

As far as I'm concerned, even if I was offered a 5 years contract @ 1000£/day to work for the government on the "UK ID card scheme" I would not accept it. Because if the scheme succeeds it would mean another major blow to our privacy. And privacy, to me, is more important than money.

Hopefully the scheme will be scrapped by the current government as they are facing mounting difficulties. And the Conservatives have pledged to scrap the scheme if they win the next general election; if this is true I would vote for them for this reason alone.

[Troll]

As far as I'm concerned, even if I was offered a 5 years contract @ 1000£/day to work for the government on the "UK ID card scheme" I would not accept it. Because if the scheme succeeds it would mean another major blow to our privacy. And privacy, to me, is more important than money.

Hopefully the scheme will be scrapped by the current government as they are facing mounting difficulties. And the Conservatives have pledged to scrap the scheme if they win the next general election; if this is true I would vote for them for this reason alone.

Pippo has integrity and is prepared to stand by the strength of his/her (which) convictions which is to be commended.

However as a contractor and indeed a member of this country the paradigm in use is to fill yer boots wherever possible at the government’s largesse.
EDS do it, Anderson do it, all the politicians are doing it, and I suspect that should the Conservatives regain power they will too.
So 'make hay while then sun shines' and laugh all the way to the bank while the country slips into a police state, but by that time you will have made enough to move elsewhere.

HTH


I

[TheMonkey]

I'd accept the £1k a day and sabotage the bloody thing. At least you could afford the legal representation!

[pippo]

So 'make hay while then sun shines' and laugh all the way to the bank while the country slips into a police state, but by that time you will have made enough to move elsewhere.

I believe that one of the worst things that could happen in your life is having your options reduced. Especially when it comes to things like privacy and liberty. If the UK should slip into a police state, many of us will rightly want to go elsewhere but this would mean less options for work, ie. one less (decent) country in the world (the UK) to live in and earn a good living. Also one day you migh want to feel the desire or need to go back to the UK for whatever reasons. You will realize the importance of this only after it has already happened and it's too late. So in my opinion it's in our interest to try and do something about it now.

Also, I fear that if the UK ID card scheme succeeds it could become something that other countries will consider introducing as well. If it fails, like it looks highly likely at this stage, it will hopefully deter other countries to follow the steps of Tony Bliar & Co. If other countries should decide to introduce similar ID card schemes our options will be reduced even more, and so on..

[ratewhore]

Take the £1K a day for 5 years because you can guarantee it won't be delivered in that timeframe...