Identity Cards Bill

Whatever the figure is. The right hon. Gentleman has not been present for this debate, but he will know that I have cast doubt on all the estimates that have been made. That is one of them. People in the industry are keen, but I think that they share my concern at the rather muddled presentation and the possibility that it will lead to a complex and poor quality specification that will not necessarily get the buy-in of all the critical players. That is at the root of failed IT projects. I shall not go down the route taken by my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras who chose to cast a great deal of blame on IT companies. Of course, they fail and do things wrong. However, the critical thing that normally goes wrong in such projects happens right at the start. It is necessary to get the specification of what is being done absolutely straight before driving the project through with narrow-minded rigour. A critical test is thus the quality of project management, which would indicate whether costs could be managed effectively. However, although I have met one or two of the people involved in the project, I have seen no evidence to date of the rigorous project management disciplines that would be required to deliver a project that was a tenth as difficult as the identity card scheme will be. For the reasons that I have outlined, I take no great comfort from the debate. I have given all these pieces of advice in private, so it is a little sad to find that little progress appears to have been made. I am surprised that the Government have chosen to support the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras because while I accept the caveats that have been cited about the possibility of evading various responsibilities due to the amendment, the provision will give rise to a process of terrible Chinese water torture because some poor Minister will have to produce a report every six months. The Minister might well say, ““I can’t reveal them this and can’t tell them that,”” but the reports will prompt ongoing repetitive debate on the merits and purpose of the scheme. I am not worried about that, but I am puzzled by the Government’s insistence on taking that route to reassure people about the project, rather than the route that I would have commended, which would be a more rigorous attempt to nail things down right at the start. That remains my preferred strategy, so I still hope that the Government will adopt it. I am sad that I will not be able to give the Government my support on these matters tonight.