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Immigration Review

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 9 July 2007.

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Photo of Nick Clegg Nick Clegg Shadow Secretary of State (Home Office) 2:30, 9 July 2007

I welcome the Home Secretary to her first Home Affairs questions. The Government have made much of the role that identity cards will play in the management of our immigration system. Her Minister for Immigration and Asylum said to me on the Floor of the House in February that up to 70 per cent. of the cost of ID cards would be absorbed by the introduction of Biometric passports. Given that in the High Court the Government are blocking a request from the Information Commissioner demanding publication of the Government's own early cost estimates for the project, will she agree today to allay growing public concerns about the ballooning costs of that vast project? Will she agree to place before the House as soon as possible a full, detailed analysis of the costs of the project from beginning to end?

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campbell waterman
Posted on 12 Jul 2007 4:47 pm (Report this annotation)

This was a perfectly reasonable question that received a a fudged answer. We should all be concerned

biometric

A measured and/or recorded biological parameter. Example: passport-type photo, finger print, iris detail, retina blood vessel detail, voice pattern, and DNA signature. Technically speaking, mentally stored information is also biometric, so this includes: signature or monograph, PIN number, password and passphrase.

Minister

Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.