The Home Office's plans for ID cards depend on the reliability of the biometrics chosen to identify people.

So do their plans to protect our borders.

If the biometrics chosen are not reliable, then these plans can't work.

The Home Office are advised on these matters by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB*). A correspondence with HOSDB got off to a good start, please see below, and then stopped. Not only were letters not replied to, they were not even acknowledged.

Why?

21 August 2008 Email to HOSDB (FOI)
4 September 2008 Acknowledgement from Home Office Direct Communications Unit
18 September 2008 Reply from HOSDB
24 September 2008 Reply to HOSDB
25 September 2008 Acknowledgement from Home Office Direct Communications Unit
14 October 2008 Reply from HOSDB
2 January 2009 Reply to HOSDB #1 of 2
8 January 2009 Reply to HOSDB #2 of 2
11 March 2009 Request for a response from HOSDB

Then:

26 May 2009 16:40 Phone call to HOSDB, 01727 865051. Switchboard meant to operate until 17:00 but had to leave message requesting a response.
28 May 2009 Reply from HOSDB
29 May 2009 Telephone conversation with HOSDB
 
* Now part of the Home Office's Centre for Applied Science and Technology, see also the Home Office organogram, expand the Chief Scientific Officer node.