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ID cards to be offered in three levels
The government is to offer three levels of identity card, DeadBrain has learned.
ID Silver, at an annual cost of £93, will contain basic biometric data. As the entry-level card it will offer only basic identification reliability. In early testing success rates for correctly identifying the holder were only 69% in a representative sample of 2,000 people and 48% in a sample of 750 disabled people. Home Office minister Tony McNulty has acknowledged that there will be some "teething problems" with the cards, but he said that for most people the Silver version would be adequate. There will be no set up charge for the card.
ID Gold, costing £100 for an initial set-up and then £150 a year, will contain enhanced-quality biometric data to reduce the likelihood of identification failure. According to Mr McNulty greater care will be taken in obtaining biometric data and storing it in the card. "For one thing it will use a memory chip from a reputable manufacturer rather than one from a third world knock-off outfit like we'll use in ID Silver," he said.
The ID Gold card will also contain a feature by which the annual fee will be automatically deducted from the holder's bank account without the need for a personal visit to a government office.
At the top of the range will be ID Platinum. It will cost £300 for the initial set-up and then £250 a year. It will have the features of ID Gold, the ability to store up to 1000 MP3 files, and will entitle the holder to preferred status on NHS waiting lists for most minor operations.
ID Platinum will also be a dedicated debit card, useable for payment in all government transactions, including direct payment of income tax. Each £1 purchase will earn one TonyPoint®. It is understood that the Home Office is negotiating with a number of retail chains, including Argos and Tesco, to allow the use of TonyPoints towards purchases there.
The Home Office has refused to provide details of the total set up costs, citing commercial sensitivity. However, spokesman Douglas Ramsbottom said that a proposal from Sir Richard Branson to establish and run the ID card service under the Virgin banner had been turned down. "Our thinking at present is more along the lines of outsourcing to India or Botswana," he said, "and Virgin just couldn't match their prices."
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