ID cards review: public money used against the public interest
Posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 by Home Office WatchCategory: Departmental Administration, ID Cards
£140,000 of public money has been spent so far trying to keep reviews of the Government’s plans for ID cards a secret.
The Office of Government Commerce has spent the money on a four-year legal battle to avoid releasing the relevant “Gateway reviews” (stage-by-stage assessments of Government projects) .
The Information Tribunal, which hears appeals against Freedom of Information rulings, ordered ministers last week to publish two reviews into the progress of the ID cards scheme within 28 days.
However, the OGC is not likely to do so readily, and costs could rise even higher, as Computer Weekly reports:
“Its punctilious arguments for continued secrecy have the full backing of ministers. The OGC has so far:
-Rejected a freedom of information request for the two gateway reviews to be published
- Rejected an appeal by the FOI applicant to publish the two reviews
- Appealed against a ruling of the Information Commissioner that the reviews be published
- Appealed against a ruling by the Information Tribunal that the reviews be published.
“The OGC instructed Jonathan Swift, one of the two most senior barristers who act for the government in civil law matters, to argue in the High Court for the reviews to be kept secret.
“But the OGC is likely to appeal the Tribunal’s decision, which means it can continue to keep the reviews secret.
“If the OGC were to lose any High Court appeal, it could take the case to the Law Lords. If it lost that too, ministers could veto to stop the reviews being published.
“The two gateway “zero” reviews in question are already more than five years old. They were assessments of the ID cards scheme in June 2003 and January 2004, and gave a view on the feasibility of the ID cards scheme long before the Identity Cards Bill received royal assent in March 2006.”
Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesman, said:
“The government is increasingly realising that its ID card scheme is a laminated poll tax with all the same toxic ability to make it unpopular.
“Ministers would win more plaudits if they did not drag their feet on their legal obligations.” (BBC)
You can sign the Liberal Democrats’ petition against ID cards here.
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February 25th, 2009 at 6:15 am
There are two points to be made about those Gateway Reviews:
- they took place well before the late 2006 major changes to the project, under which it no longer has a massive new database and massive re-registration of all citizens, but is now effectively based on the IPS database and gradually bringing the DWP database into line with IPS;
- they are basically reviews of the paper trail and project organisation, bot of its content.
A 2006 review managed within OGC took a long and hard look at the project in depth, which is why the later 2006 change was authorised.
And we still do not have proposals for a really useful eID card that we can use to secure on-line transactions, unlike numerous other EU countries. The current ID card is effectively a passport on a plastic ID-1 (bank card) sized piece of plastic.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:53 am
What is it with this untrustworthy government that they feel they have to set up systems to control us, the people of the country? They are inept, sadly lacking in vision and self-confdence and fear the people having their own freedom like so many all controlling, centrist government. This behavior is built into the Labour/Marxist party from its very conception and first appeared near the end of WW2 when it too over from the Conservatives and Liberals. Atlee’s government was riddled with people with the idea of a big, central, all controlling state controlling and spent a great deal of its time wooing Russia and its ideas. That exists today. It hates freedom because it know it has not the wit to handle it. But freedom will survive while Nu-Labour will crash into the gound.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:55 am
My comment needs editing. Full of literals.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Maybe there may be little harm in the ID card, if we could be certain of maintaining a benign Goverment. A majory objection to them is the fear of misuse by a malign Government.
Now! Which kind of Government would suppress information, which should be in the public domain?
My case rests!
February 25th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Their actions as regards identity are mind-boggling in their stupidity.
I have just been told that I must provide a new photograph for my driving license as the existing one is nearly 10 years old and my
appearance may have changed so that it would be difficult to identify me from the photo on the license.
HOWEVER - they say that the new photo does not have to be signed to certify that it is ‘me’. If my appearance has changed so much that I am not recognisable from the existing photo how do they know that the new photo is of ‘me’?
With such people looking after our security the reaction has to be “RUN FOR THE HILLS CHAPS!!!
February 26th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
This is an issue that the Lib Dems could win the election over. Keeping it in the limelight is causing Neo Labour to haemmorage votes and erstwhile loyal supporters. I’m glad more people can see that Neo Labour are not a party that stands up for working people. I wish the Lib Dems would stress this more too.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Most people KNOW that governance as we know it is corrupt.
Most people, given access to information, and the opportunity to discuss any given issue, will come up with appropriate solutions to problems in their locality. The POWER INQUIRY of 2006 showed this to be the case.
People all over the UK are daily engaged in activism in their communities. That can be translated into grassroots power by the suggested changes to the democratic system the people themselves worked out, as presented by The POwer Inquiry.
All three parties attended the Power Inquiry Conference. All three paid lip service to the ‘ideals’ and ignored the recommendations of the people. All three later said those recommendatiosn would be impractical.
POWER is the issue, and who uses it.
Government or People?
We have NEVER had a government by the people. Only Government over the peopele.
We will do, some day. That is inevitable.