Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Another Government IT success
For those who still have confidence in the Government's ability to deliver the technology that will make their ID card work, then this article in today's Guardian must be sobering reading.
The paper tells us that the microchips in 3 million passports, which are supposed to be valid for 10 years, only carry a 24-month warranty:
Whitehall spending watchdogs also warn today that much of the technology surrounding the new ePassports is still unproven and could lead to passenger delays at airports, raising doubts about their immediate security benefits.
A National Audit Office report says the £440m Home Office ePassports project has so far been delivered on time and on budget but flaws in its technology mean that it may still prove not to be value for money. The cost of renewing a passport has been increased from £51 to £66 to pay for the introduction of ePassports which include a digital photograph and biographical details held on a microchip which is read by an electronic scanner at immigration control.
The ID card project becomes more problematic by the day not least in its potential to be delivered on time or on budget.
The paper tells us that the microchips in 3 million passports, which are supposed to be valid for 10 years, only carry a 24-month warranty:
Whitehall spending watchdogs also warn today that much of the technology surrounding the new ePassports is still unproven and could lead to passenger delays at airports, raising doubts about their immediate security benefits.
A National Audit Office report says the £440m Home Office ePassports project has so far been delivered on time and on budget but flaws in its technology mean that it may still prove not to be value for money. The cost of renewing a passport has been increased from £51 to £66 to pay for the introduction of ePassports which include a digital photograph and biographical details held on a microchip which is read by an electronic scanner at immigration control.
The ID card project becomes more problematic by the day not least in its potential to be delivered on time or on budget.
Labels: ID
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Peter
Why do you and everyone else keep claiming it is the government that cant deliver IT projects?
In almost every case there has been a tender and there are external consultants and specialist IT contractors doing the work.
Perhaps if people started looking at their record and considered developing some in house experience we might save some money and get better results
Why do you and everyone else keep claiming it is the government that cant deliver IT projects?
In almost every case there has been a tender and there are external consultants and specialist IT contractors doing the work.
Perhaps if people started looking at their record and considered developing some in house experience we might save some money and get better results
# posted by 
: 7:37 AM
: 7:37 AM
I think that you have answered your own question. The lack of in-house expertise and the reliance on external consultants can often be the source of the problem. It is not always the case of course.
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