Significant reductions in the time required for a criminal records bureau (CRB) check will be one of the early benefits of the national identity cards scheme, according to Home Office officials behind the programme.

Once the scheme goes live, ID cards will be issued as part of the passport renewal process. The first cards will be issued from the end of 2008, but rollout will be gradual and few services making use of the cards are expected before 2010.

From the start, however, the cards will act as a valid travel document within the EU and cut CRB checking time from a month to a few days, says Katherine Courtney, director of the Home Office ID cards programme.

‘The CRB has worked with us on a complete redesign of its processes, so from the earliest days of the ID scheme the current paper-based process could be streamlined,’ she said.

‘The CRB expects the timescale to go from a four-week turnaround with intensive manual interaction to a purely electronic process taking about 72 hours.’

The government is also working with the private sector on possible uses for the card.

David Lacey, head of security at Royal Mail and chairman of the private sector ID cards forum, says potential uses include streamlining human resources procedures and acting as a secure door pass for company buildings.

‘The fact that industry knows this is coming – and that it is going to be pervasive, long-term and built to a particular standard – is a great incentive to start designing identity management processes across our organisations,’ he said.

The government is also working with banking industry body Apacs to enable the next-generation of credit card readers to allow PIN-based authentication of the ID card.