Major database plan cancelled

The government has cancelled one of its major database projects, in line with Computing's Data Debate campaign.

Computing has been calling for a review of four overlapping plans for new government databases - the National Identity Register (NIR) for ID cards; the Office of National Statistics' Citizen Information Project (CIP); the initiative to digitise the electoral roll; and the development of a data spine for the national electronic health records system - believing any overlap will result in unnecessary expense for the taxpayer, and cause confusion and data protection issues.

In its response to the recommendations of the Commons' Home Affairs committee report on ID cards, the government has acknowledged the overlap between the ID cards scheme and the CIP.

'The government accepts the need to avoid a proliferation of registers and recognises that improving both access to, and efficiency of, public services are important features of the CIP and the ID cards programme,' says the response.

Head of egovernment Ian Watmore told Computing last month he would look into the issue of parallel database projects.