Prologue: British ID round upBritish national ID card program struggles to get off the ground

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a government in possession of a small fortune must be in want of an efficient way to spend it. In no other area is this clearer than in homeland security, where bureaucratic waste and indecision have led to untoward delays in no small number of programs. Yet let there be no mistake. While most of our attention is paid to American policy and spending, the problem of turning appropriated money into effective security is worldwide. Take England as the latest in a series of examples. Despite having already spent £46.4 million on a national biometric ID card system, the government is still unable to provide any detail as to its particulars. Of course, the Home Office claims to be on top of things, and says a report is forthcoming, but critics are not impressed.

The Identity Cards Act 2006 establishes a National Identity Register to store and share details of people’s identity, including biographical and biometric information, but leaves open the question of how exactly the data will be stored — in a new database or by creating a program that pulls together information from existing databases. Roll-out is scheduled for 2008. “We haven’t made a final decision about whether there will be a whole new database,” said a spokesman for the Home Office. They had better do so soon. Delays like this make it extremely difficult for industry to prepare itself — anticipating the outline of a request for proposal is critical in pulling together a successful response — and companies loathe jumping in unless they feel the government has settled itself. Indeed, similar problems with the Health Service NPfIT program spooked Accenture right out the project.

-read more in Tom Espiner’s ZDNet UK report [http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39284202,00.htm