Making big brother pay: ID card opportunities

The UK ID card scheme will include basic personal information, a digital photo and a "biometric" which can include facial recognition, iris scans and fingerprints. That will take a lot of IT development, so where will the work be for contractors?

The government expects that 80 per cent of the adult population will have an ID card by 2013.

The card will become compulsory thereafter for all residents, after a decision by the cabinet and a vote in parliament.

Main features of the cards:

• basic details such as name, age, validity dates, nationality, whether a person has a right to work, and an unique number;
• a secure encrypted chip that contains a unique personal biometric identifier;
• cards will be linked to a national secure database which will contain the data from the card and be able to use the biometric data to confirm identity, preventing multiple card applications;
• the cards will cost an estimated £3.50 per year per person (free for 75+ year olds), with costs arising largely from the development of secure biometric identifiers.

For most UK citizens, the card will take the form of a biometric passport which will be upgraded when it comes up for renewal.

At the same time, all EU and foreign nationals coming into the country for more than three months will have to pay for a biometric residence permit.

Cranleigh-based security systems developer, Windmill Computing Limited, says the projects could mean a lot of work for specialist IT contractors.

"Technically speaking, it will be a lovely project to work on, especially with the development of the biometric data systems and incorporating this information into the chip itself as well as developing the software and systems needed to read that information back," says Paul Miller, the company's managing director.

"Lower-level languages like C++ will be well-suited to the programming and development of the chip systems, with some Visual Basic programmers expected to be in demand too.

"There should also be a high demand for contractors who are experienced in these skills sets who also possess security systems experience, especially when it comes to rolling the new system and cards out. There should also be demand for installation work, but less so than on roll-out."

Paul was an IT security contractor himself until he was hit by IR35.

"I had to completely re-organise my life and finances when it came out," he said, expressing his "total frustration" at the government.

"We were massive collectors of VAT and corporation tax for the government and yet their whole attitude towards the knowledge sector is appalling."

Since re-structuring his business, Paul - who has handled IT security contracts for the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Windsor Castle and other prestigious sites - has cut a niche in the ID card sector.

"I developed tachograph systems in lorries for border security and created the sample cards for the new-style UK driver's license where I learned the most important issue for the government when choosing a supplier is cost over quality."

Because of this, a big one-size fits all supplier will be chosen to do almost all of the work in the ID card systems roll out, he says.

"The major contract will go to a big company, probably EDS, who, while having their own in-house staff, will also need to hire specialist contractors to deal with the extra workload."

"A lot of contractors who have dealt with smart card systems will undoubtedly be in demand during this time."

The actual work itself and the evolution of the ID card system promises to be engrossing, Paul says.

The UK is already working on upgrading passports, which will include chips containing biometric data, to meet tough international security requirements.

From October 2004, only holders of biometric visas will be able to enter the USA, and countries like the UK which currently participate in the 90-day visa waiver scheme will have to develop biometric passports.

The UK Passport Service will shortly begin a six-month biometric pilot to test face, iris and fingerprint capture and recognition.

However, there is an "absolute danger" the contract winner will outsource much of the programming work to India, says Paul.

"I saw it happen once on a big security project when I was working at MBS. The project was sub-contracted out to India and it was a nightmare.

"I'm sure it was cheaper to do, but the time delay and the communication barrier meant the manager involved left the project saying he would never ever do it again."

"Saying that, Indian programmers working in the UK have produced far better results that they have when working remotely.

Paul says the movement towards using Indian programmers on such projects is inevitable under some circumstances.

"You can't really stop it, it's just part of the competition," he says.

The government, through parliament, will make ID cards compulsory when the technology is seen to be working and take-up reaches an appropriate level and public acceptability of the card enables the implementation of a universal scheme.

However, it will not be compulsory to carry the cards, it says.

A contract award for a provisional six-month UK ID card trial for 10,000 volunteers will be announced in the next two weeks.