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Identity Cards Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply to the debate, which has been going on for more than two hours. I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in the debate. A majority of noble Lords have supported the amendment and I am grateful for that. A number of noble Lords raised points and I hope that all noble Lords will forgive me if I do not reiterate and respond to the detailed points which were made as I am conscious of the time that we have already spent on this small group of amendments. The amendment is about transparency and openness in government. I do not believe that the Government have demonstrated those qualities in connection with the Bill. We have challenged them to provide information on start-up costs, capital costs, transaction volumes and many other details, but answers came there none. The Minister’s story about this simply requiring marginal add-ons to the UK Passport Service is very difficult to swallow without details. There is still a major disparity between the Home Office figures and those produced by the London School of Economics. I remind noble Lords that the LSE’s figures at the top end are more than three times those produced by the Government.