To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to make use of data on the National Identity Register when it is established; and what the estimated cost to his Department of that use is. (174037)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will be working with the Home Office, prior to the introduction of the National Identity Scheme, to establish how identity information held on the proposed National Identity Register might be used to provide easier access to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's services for our customers. It is too early in the process to establish the detailed costs and benefits.