ID cards
stupID
The Government has just announced that the ID card scheme will cost £5.4bn to set up and run for the first ten years of its operation. Half a billion a year. This is in line with previous government costings, i.e. a vast underestimate which is disbelieved by anyone who has come close to a government IT contract over the past decade. Well, at least the Government’s reasoning behind ID cards is becoming clearer. It’s all about immigration. The older arguments are falling by the wayside, so we can now see the scheme for what it is. Here is my mocked-up version of an ID card that can provide the same information required by the Government, at a much reduced cost. 
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Fingerprint Frenzy!
I have not forgotten the issue of Derbyshire schools and ID cards. I have been trying for over two weeks to get the County Council to give me their procedures for allowing parents informed written consent before their children are fingerprinted. This suggests to me that no such procedures exist.
While I wait (and begin to compose a letter to the local rag) I notice - irony of ironies - that Derbyshire Constabulary's website has a new game for kids to play - Fingerprint Frenzy! - I quote: "See if you can catch the burglar by looking for fingerprints with your magnifying glass. When you've found one, brush it and check it with the one you need. Don't get it wrong! He might get away!"
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Fingerprinting kids
My unhealthy obsession with ID cards has led me to the campaign against fingerprinting children – Leave Them Kids Alone.
At first, I thought it was a typical, over-anxious parent campaign (MMR, mobile phone masts, etc.). It’s clearly more than that. Children in our schools are being fingerprinted to access school services, with little evidence that parental consent is being sought. Derbyshire Council are delighted with the technology. But I have serious reservations about a system that captures biological identifiers like this, sometimes from children at primary school, without informing parents, and with very little information about where, and how the data is stored (and by whom). I gave the local rag a push in this direction - we'll see tomorrow if they've bothered to look into it. Meanwhile, one of our local MEPs has kicked up a fuss (UKIP, unfortunately). My email to the Council remains unanswered. Whatever your views, the LTKA site is worth a read - it's well-written, humourous and a good example of what an online campaign should look like. Let's hope it has some effect.
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ID card security breaches
Another ID card clanger spotted by The Scotsman, and some good comments to boot. It's not the first time that The Scotsman has been on the trail of the pointless system recently. They also spotted that the Government has already spent £46m on the scheme over the last three years.
It is heartening to see the Scots are so opposed to the useless idea. As with the Poll Tax, we might see the most strident of opposition north of the border. This might not have meant much to Thatcher's government, but it'll mean a whole lot more to Gordon Brown's.
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If only we had ID cards
Here we go again. Terrorism plot, 24 people in custody, all British-born. ID cards will do nothing to help solve indigenous security problems like this. Let's spend the scheme's operating costs of half a billion pounds a year on something that would really help, like the police and security services.
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ID cards again
Decided to stick something on LabourHome about ID cards to see if there is any sign of opposition to the scheme within the Party.
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ID cards in the manifesto
The PM's pronouncement on ID cards today is just about the last straw for me. As a party member, I simply cannot campaign on a manifesto which includes ID cards. I have no trust in the technology that will deliver it, the government department that will run it, or future politicians, who might abuse it. There has not been a single good argument put up in its favour, and it'll cost a fortune. It must be stopped.
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