New report claims cost of ID cards will be £500 each

[milanbenes]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...859673,00.html


"THE cost of introducing a national identity card scheme could rise to almost £30 billion — almost £500 a card, the government will be warned this month.

A report by the London School of Economics (LSE), details of which have emerged this weekend, says the cost of integrating the scheme’s computers with government databases will add as much as £10 billion to the college’s previous £18 billion estimate.
",

nice.

Milan.

[threaded]

Nah they're still being way way too conservative with the cost. Only £10 billion for integration? I feel a Santa Claus moment coming on: Ho ho ho. It'll cost at least £10 billion just to work out what database they have, never mind link to the fsckers. I thought this Charles Clark gained a degree in Math? Yet can't add up. How sad.

[mcquiggd]

Why not use the existing Passport or National Insurance Card infrastructures.... that already have the ability to track and issue machine readable identities....

Oh sorry, I was thinking like a programmer, not a politician.

[Joe Black]

No mcquiggd, you're just thinking like someone who hasn't worked in the public sector.

I used to be like that as well, "install Win2K on a box how difficult can it be?"

Answers to the above:
- wrong answer: "a few hours work"
- correct answer: "10 days and it will cost 10,000 quid...excluding the license"

The correct answer, believe it or not, was given to me on one of my previous contracts.

[PerlOfWisdom]

I feel a gravy train coming on.