ID cards taken up in NW England

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More than 300 biometric national identity cards have been issued in the latest regional roll-out of the scheme, the Home Office has said.

The cards were launched for people in Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire on 4 January, following their introduction in Manchester in November.

The card should be available nationwide by 2012, but will not be compulsory.

The Tories, Lib Dems and civil rights groups say ID cards are a waste of money and will not improve security.

Following the latest roll-out of the scheme, a Home Office spokesman said: "Since the 4th, IPS [Identity and Passport Service] has also been receiving 600 calls a day from members of the public asking for an application form for an ID card.

"So far, a total of 16,800 application packs have been requested by members of the public. A total of 2,700 identity cards are now in circulation in Manchester and the North West."

PROPOSED TIMETABLE 2008: Foreign National ID card launched 2009: UK ID card offered in Greater Manchester 2010: Scheme extended across NW England June 2010: Last possible date for general election 2011-12: Nationwide roll-out?

The £30 card is similar in look to a UK driving licence but holds more data, including two fingerprints and a photograph encoded on a chip.

This chip and its unique number in turn links the card to a national identity register which, under current legislation, could hold more information about the identity of the individual.

Critics of the scheme say the cards, along with the associated database and data collection, threaten civil liberties and will not provide real protection against identity theft or terrorism.

Campaign group NO2ID say that once someone is on the database, they will be obliged to update their details on the register for the rest of their life.

In June, the Home Office dropped plans to make the ID card compulsory for 200,000 airport workers amid widespread opposition from inside the industry that it would do nothing to improve the security procedures already in place.

This means only some foreign nationals are currently obliged to hold a card.

Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have said they would abolish ID cards if they win the next election.

The scheme is said to cost £5bn, although the London School of Economics estimates it will cost between £10bn and £20bn.

UK NATIONAL ID CARD: KEY FEATURES EXPLAINED 1. Symbol meaning a chip is embedded in the card2. ID card number3. Citizenship. Foreign nationals in the UK are being given different cards.4. Place of birth5. Signature - digitally embedded in the card 6. Date of card issue and date it becomes invalid7. Photo taken to biometric standards 8. Biometric chip holds fingerprint record 9. Swipe zone. Information which can be automatically read by computer

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