Monday, January 16, 2006

ID Cards scheme bounces back to the Commons The UK House of Lords has called for the ID Cards Bill to be sent back to the Commons until the National Audit Office and MPs vet the figures. The government was defeated by 237 votes to 156. This is a significant move; the Lords had been placed in a difficult position, since the government would not tell them the costs even in a 'secret' session offered by the opposition, implying that they could not be trusted to know the costs. Clearly it doesn't pay to upset Peers. 5:55:19 PM    comment []

A big news morning for ID cards Clearly we're going to hear a lot about ID today. The Register is carrying another excellent piece by John Lettice about the London School of Economics' status report on the ID Cards project. The Guardian also has a good piece, in which they compare the ID cards scheme with other famous initiatives such as the Dome, Eurofighter, NHS spine and Scottish Parliament building. On BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme, Simon Davies appeared with Home Office Minister Andy Burnham MP. Mr Burnham refuted the LSE's claims, and stood by his assertion that KPMG's audit of the project demonstrated that the costs are sound. He criticised the LSE for creating headline-grabbing figures, but did not answer criticisms that the Home Office has not disclosed its own calculations. This promises to be an interesting day indeed... 7:43:13 AM    comment []