Identity Cards Bill

My hon. Friend is right to note that the project is a major undertaking and will require significant sums, and I shall set out in detail how much we expect to spend. I have two points in response to her question. If we said that because there had been problems in the past we would never embrace new technology and never make significant investment in a project that could bring improvements, that would be the wrong approach. However, I assure her that we are basing the delivery body for the scheme on that of the UK Passport Service. It had problems a few years ago, but they were not related to the introduction of the IT system, and it has since emerged as one of the highest-performing public sector organisations and is extremely well equipped to deliver the scheme cost-effectively.