Via the NO2ID blog, this, from the Register:
The government has scrapped its carrot and stick id card for yoofs after realising that the costs of developing its computer system were beginning to outweigh the benefits it could deliver.
Quelle surprise. But anyone with a grain of sense knew this anyway…
Public Sector Forums (PSF) said it learned of the scheme’s demise from a memo leaked from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), which was supposed to pilot the system with 10 local authorities over two years from autumn 2006.
However, it appears that an early assessment of progress has caused the DfES to scrap the scheme before it even got off the ground.
I guess that they decided to scrap it before spending the money is a good thing. It also seems that common sense is seeping into the corridors of power… Possibly.
Known as the youth opportunity card, it was introduced as one of a raft of measures designed to help wayward kids back on the straight and narrow, as part of the government’s Respect Action Plan and Every Child Matters programmes.
Quite how it was going to achieve this is anyone’s guess. Magick, I suppose.
“It is clear that the costs for the delivery infrastructure would far outweigh the money that would end up in the hands of the young people whom we are trying to help”.
Yes, yes, yes. What took you so long?
“The Youth Opportunity Card was to be aimed at young people aged 13 to 19 years old. We didn’t plan to link this to the National Identity Register or the national ID Card proposals – which are aimed at those aged 16 or over,” it said.
Oh, no, of course not… And politicians are earnest, hardworking folk who sacrifice their lives in the service of others. Pull the other one.
Still, this odious scheme has died a well deserved death. Will the big boy’s version do the same, I wonder? One can only hope…