To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the first identity cards are likely to be issued in the UK. (164800)

The Strategic Action Plan for the National Identity Scheme, published in December 2006, set out the Government's plans to provide more secure and reliable methods of proving identity, including the introduction of ID cards.

The plans are for the Border and Immigration Agency to begin issuing identity cards to foreign nationals from 2008 and for the Identity and Passport Service to begin issuing ID cards to British citizens from 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the operational costs of the identity card and biometric passport scheme she estimates will be covered by fees charged for the cards and passports issued. (164855)

A detailed charging structure for the national identity scheme has yet to be determined and will need to be implemented through secondary legislation under section 35 of the Identity Cards Act 2006 that will require approval in both Houses of Parliament. However, it is expected that the running costs of the scheme will be recovered from fees just as they are now for passports.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate she has made of the cost of using (a) three separate databases for the identity card project and (b) creating a single database; (171877)

Providing any further breakdown of the estimated costs of the National Identity Scheme to that provided in the November cost report to Parliament would potentially jeopardise the ability of the Home Office to secure value for money from the recently commenced supplier dialogues for the procurement of services to operate the scheme.

I would refer the hon. Member to the latest cost report that may be found at:

http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/publications-legislative.asp

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what the annual volume of products issued in table 4 of the November 2007 identity cost report refers; and whether a joint identity card and passport is counted as one product. (171886)

The November 2007 Cost Report sets out a future estimate of passports, identity cards, and “combination products”, where an applicant would be issued with both a passport and identity card through the same application.

I would refer the hon. Member to the latest cost report that may be found at:

http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/publications-legislative.asp

To provide a further breakdown between each of these three application types, when taken together with other cost estimates already placed in the public domain, would jeopardise the current negotiations with prospective suppliers under the National Identity Scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2007, Official Report, column 678W, on identity cards: costs, why the estimate of passports issued in 2007-08 is different from the estimate listed in the last row of table 4 of the November 2007 identity card cost report. (171891)

The answer of 20 November 2007, Official Report, column 678W, on identity cards costs stated the estimated number of passports to be issued in 2007-08 as reported in the last Identity and Passport Service Business Plan (March 2007) and estimated at the time of publication of that document.

The Cost Report laid before Parliament in November 2007 contained the latest estimate of all products to be issued for each of the 10 years covered by the report.