Tesco’s to “Issue ID Cards”?

According to this teasing article, we’ll be able to “buy” our ID cards along with our Lottery tickets.

Separately, there are interesting differences between the (private sector) incentives attached to the latest “Club Card” loyalty scheme and the (public sector) penalties attached to government schemes:

In a country which perhaps has more Tesco stores than Post Offices: Tesco’s offers to “do its best” to return my keys if my bar-coded Club Card tag is attached to the keyring - ie. an incentive to carry the tag and to keep Tesco’s database update with the correct address.

Would the national or local government do the same if I lose my wallet containing my spooky new ITSO smart-card bus-pass (aka “Citizen Card")?

Wibbis:

1. Scrap the UK government & EU ID projects: We don’t need them; we can’t afford them. (We’ll even allow the government to give the “credit-crunch” as an excuse!)
2. More (any?) joined-up thinking about how ordinary people could benefit from any new e-government schemes.

Published by Richard S on 12/05/08 at 11:48am

Comments

Tens of millions of pounds has been spent on the best British management consultants in the business, and this has resulted in the gold standard for identity promised by Blunkett being steadily reduced to a club card with knobs on. Still it does open up a new linking of thinking: remarket the ID card as your compulsory UK loyalty card! You could get points for doing British things (eg, binge drinking until you pass out and your children are taken into care) and when you’d used your ID card enough times (to buy packs of cigarettes or open bank accounts) you would have enough points to go to Alton Towers or something. In fact, this is such a good idea I intend to assert my moral right as author tomorrow. I’m going to be rich.

Reply by Dave Birch on 05/12/08 at 6:32 pm
The Identity & Passport Service (IPS) plans to introduce the National Identity Scheme (NIS) have been examined by the Office of Government Commerce and condemned as unrealistic and guaranteed to fail.

And yet IPS proceed with the NIS.

Their plans have also been examined by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee and, again, condemned.

And yet, again, IPS proceed.

IPS are clearly not accountable. That is a Bad Thing. WIBBI IPS were accountable?

How do we call IPS to account? Many attempts have been made. So far, they have failed.

Perhaps the article referred to by Richard S gives us a clue.

The author, Philip Johnston, could call for James Hall, Chief Executive of IPS, to answer the questions raised by OGC and the Science and Technology Committee and the several comments on Mr Johnston’s article submitted to the Telegraph.

Mr Hall should answer those questions in public, in writing, in the Telegraph. In the full glare of public scrutiny. A right which the public has earned and continues to pay for and is owed.

It is hard to believe that such an obvious statement should need to be made—that the government and our officials should be accountable. But there it is, that is the pass we have come to, we need to re-state the obvious.

Reply by David Moss on 05/13/08 at 10:14 am

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