Queen's speech sets out plans for ID cards and high-speed broadband

Queen's Speech confirmed coalition plans to scrap Labour's ID apparatus

Coalition government plans to speed the creation of a high-speed broadband network and scrap ID cards were set out in today's Queen's speech.

The Lib-Con programme for the next 18 months commits the government to "look at ways of ensuring a strong, competitive, market-led approach to next generation broadband rollout across the country", including the possibility of early legislation on infrastructure sharing.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which has been placed in charge, puts the bulk of the cost down to civil engineering — including the digging up of roads.

Officials made no mention of proposals from the Tories, repeated in the Coalition Agreement, to use BBC licence money to pay for rollout that is commercially unaffordable.

The government believes making it possible for companies to use infrastructure already in place could significantly reduce costs and drive more commercial investment – this would include investment in rural areas where the current market case is less attractive.

Ministers claim steps now to reduce the cost could make a significant contribution to broadband availability and open the market to new players.

The DCMS is to review what needs to be done to enable greater infrastructure sharing, including the possibility of legislation if existing powers are inadequate, as soon as possible.

The Home Office, former bastion of those pushing for ID cards, now plans a bill to scrap ID cards and require the destruction of all personal information gathered from cardholders.

Officials are expressing plans in tough language, with talk of "destroying the National Identity Register". They also claim the legislation will save £86m over the next four years once all cancellation costs are taken into account as well as avoid more than £800m of on-going costs that would have been recovered from fees extracted from cardholders.

The measure will also close the Office of the Identity Commissioner.