No entitlement cards before 2005

Government plans to introduce smart 'entitlement' cards could take at least three years to develop even a basic form of identification, say experts.

Home Secretary David Blunkett this week published a consultation paper on the introduction of entitlement cards aimed at cutting benefit fraud and fighting illegal immigration and the black economy.

The first step is to issue cards carrying all the different identifications used by the public to access services, such as National Insurance and NHS numbers, says Tim Conway, industry affairs director at trade body Intellect, who advised the government on the paper.

He says the cards could also carry private sector applications to boost their popularity, but it is likely to be at least 2005 before they are in place.

Conway says the government should not use entitlement cards as identity cards, but in the same way as banks do - to allow access to services.

'We are doomed to fail if we think along those lines. What needs to happen in government is what has happened elsewhere. You have a card which doesn't necessarily identify you but has sufficient authentication to make the process very efficient. A lot can be done to make things more efficient without citizens having to identify themselves,' he told Computing.

Linking cards to development of government back end systems could lead to big efficiency improvements: 'All the technology exists - but our view is that we should do what we can. We have to show the public that what they are getting is better than before.'

The consultation is expected to run until the Autumn. The UK Passport Service and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are already planning a database containing personal details such as fingerprints or iris scans to identify UK citizens, as revealed by Computing earlier this year (11 April).