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Blair wins national ID card vote Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aFHTnvYbBfbU&refer=uk http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aFHTnvYbBfbU&refer=uk Blair Wins ID Card Vote, First of Three Hurdles (Update1) Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair won a series of battles in Parliament on his national identity card plan at the start of three days of tough votes on key policies. Lawmakers in the House of Commons yesterday rejected amendments to the legislation by the House of Lords that would have made the cards optional and forced the government to produce full audited costs for the project. One vote saw Blair's majority reduced from 64 to 31. He faces votes on smoking today and terror laws tomorrow, both already the subject of rebellions within his own party. Blair was due to return from South Africa today, a day later than planned after he was delayed by engine trouble on his plane. Having not lost a vote in the Commons for more than eight years, Blair has been defeated four times since November, twice in earlier votes on the terror bill, which returns to the Commons tomorrow. On today's smoking legislation, he has been forced to concede a ``free vote,'' where lawmakers are allowed to do as their conscience dictates, after more than 70 Labour members called for a total ban, more than Blair's government originally proposed. The ID cards bill now returns to the Lords, which may introduce new amendments to force the government to give more details of the specifications for the card. ``The Lords may well come back with a slightly different wording -- that would be better for me,'' Labour lawmaker Mark Todd said. ``The question is whether this is a proposal that will deliver with a reasonable cost something that's worthwhile.'' Cost Estimates Differ The government has argued that ID cards would help combat identity fraud, which it says costs the country 1.7 billion pounds ($3.02 billion) a year, and could hamper terrorists. Blair has said other countries including the U.S. will require biometrics to be included in passports before they issue visas, and so it makes sense to collect the information. The Home Office has put the cost at 5.8 billion pounds during the next decade. A study by the London School of Economics in June put the cost at between 10.6 billion pounds and 19.3 billion pounds. Among the 69 companies to talk to the Home Office about implementing the plan are Microsoft Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Oracle Corp. and SAP AG. Opponents of ID cards have raised questions of cost, the security of the government database that will store everyone's details and the issue of whether they should be compulsory. While the government was elected promising a voluntary card, it proposes that everyone renewing their passport should be issued with and charged for an identity card. Around 80 percent of U.K. adults carry a passport. Database ``The price of a foreign holiday is a requirement to be put on the national identity register,'' David Davis, who speaks on home affairs for the opposition Conservative Party, told lawmakers yesterday. John McDonnell, a lawmaker and chairman of the Socialist Campaign Group, said the ``the ID cards system remains unworkable,'' according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper. The ID cards would need a database containing everybody's details; biometric and card readers in police stations, doctors' surgeries, banks and post offices; registration offices and mobile registration vans, and a network that allows organizations to check details without compromising a person's safety. According to Philip Virgo of the European Information Society Group, which advises lawmakers, the U.K. government and companies on public sector IT procurement, the profitability of any contracts will depend on whether the Home Office chooses a phased implementation of the cards, or goes for an all-out ``big bang'' approach. ``Big Bang contracts nearly always end in tears,'' Virgo said. ``You hardly ever make any money out of them. Whereas with the incremental growth path, some of that business is incredibly profitable.'' Last Updated: February 14, 2006 03:29 EST

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