I'm sorry, but...
I don't get it.
When I got my drivers licence, I was required to send a passport photo. The one I had done was clear and my face and features were clearly identifiable.
2 weeks later I got my licence. The image had been reduced to 1/4 the original size and a hologram printed over it.
What is that all about? How's anyone supposed to use that to verify that I'm the rightful card holder?
If the image was clearly visible then anyone wanting to verify my ID could use the card. The fact that they can't is a joke, what's the point of it? If they could, would we still need the biometrics etc..? How does having biometric data increase the security of the card? Are people going to be able to draw samples upon arrest, house purchasing, passing through customs, buying alcohol? Has anyone ever described how and where the verification process will take place?
Besides that; what of these discrepancies in Hillers responses that everyone has talked about here, "fewer than 100 people will have access", yet a list of institutions who'd have access was "too many to list", and doesn't include the NHS. So what about data entry, how's that going to be secured? My company can't seem to be able to unify the way postcodes are entered into the database's here let alone get them consistently right, and we only have about 13million accounts.
I foresee that data entry will be THE least secure and the most exploited in it's early life. False cards will be created through people infiltrating the system and also through playing the system. Proxy applications similar to proxy voting will, through the disabilities act allow this. As will acts protecting people on witness protection, people in secret service, SAS posts etc. There will be so many ways of NOT having to meet 100% of the criteria that there'll be dozens of ways of getting cards for any purpose.
The best way to secure the data, as has been said before, is to not collect it in the first place. There are a lot of things we can spend the same money on to improved and secure UK life, ID cards as they are presented to us currently, is not the answer to any question.