TRADITIONAL passports are set to be scrapped next year
and replaced by the Government’s controversial identity cards.
The radical proposal has been backed by the travel
industry.
A Home Office travel group – which includes ABTA,
Federation of Tour Operators and BAA – is advising home secretary David
Blunkett on the implications for the trade.
The group met last week and supported the plan to
replace passports with the new ID card in 2005. The proposed passport and ID
card would cost £77 per person.
Last week the Government published draft legislation
and launched pilot schemes for the identity cards involving 10,000 people. The
UK Passport Office is currently seeking volunteers for a trial.
The bill outlines proposals for a national identity
register, while the trials involve the recording of biometric details including
facial scans, iris scans and fingerprints.
The advisory group believes the industry will benefit
from the card’s ability to hold biometric information. It would comply with
forthcoming US entry requirements and could speed up immigration checks.
ABTA head of policy and member services Stephen Alcock
said the ID cards would be “extremely useful”. “They will be able to hold much
more information, including biometric data which meets the US requirements,” he
said.
Biometric details are expected to be compulsory for
anyone applying for, or renewing, a passport from 2007.
The scheme is estimated to cost £3.1 billion to introduce.
Alcock said ABTA fully supports the idea but is
“concerned all the cost is not passed on to the traveller”.
The Italian government last week started rolling out a
similar identity card system. Around 80,000 cards were issued, which include
social security, tax codes, driving licence and passport details. Italy’s 40
million citizens are all expected to hold an ID card by 2009.