More Government Body Bothering

This to the Passport Office (via their highly recommended website) regarding the price increase:

I understand that in order to bring passports in line with forthcoming international standards, the price of passports will increase by about fifty pounds. The standards in question require the addition of a digital, encrypted photograph to be stored on the passport. Can you explain why the addition of such a meagre item is costing so much money? I understand that price increases in other countries, such as Australia, are much smaller, not even getting into double figures.

Is there any truth in the rumour that much of the increase will be used to set up the National Identity Register, even though the new standards for passports do not require the additional passport to be listed on a separate database?

And this longer bit to the Citizens' Surveillance Register team at the Home Office:

Some time ago the former opponent of ID Cards, Mr Tony Blair, stated that the forthcoming National ID Card and Registry, which the treasury have insisted will be self-financed, shall be capped, with registry and card costs being charged to the individual at less than £30.

This would suggest that the budget for creating the scheme is approximately £2 billion. Given that the current, less ambitious, NHS database has already cost over £6 billion. How will you be able to turn around a safe, secure, convenient system for such a relatively small amount of money?

Furthermore, I am a little confused as to how the scheme's cashflow will operate. Given that payment is made on registry, re-registry and further information adjustments such as changes of address, much of the cost will be spent before this point is reached. Where does the cash for the scheme come from?

I understand it is the Home Office's intention to register citizens' biometric information with the NIR when they renew their passports as early as 2008. Given that the Home Office has stated that, for the cards to be compulsary, a further vote in the House would be required, will the registry of biometrics with the NIR be optional until such a time as ownership of the card becomes mandatory?

In light of the recent news that much of the administration of the Birth, Marriage and Death certificates will be offshored to India, how will the system be made secure? Much of the talk of security issues have focused on data theft, but given that the NIR will be populated by other databases, and given that registry with the NIR will rely on existing forms of identification, how will the Home Office protect the Births, Marriages and Deaths registry from being corrupted by users creating false entries in order to back-up applications for the much more attractive "gold standard" National ID Cards? Under whose legal jurisdiction do the offshore workers come if they are to commit crimes against the Registry?

When the Home Office refuses to give out information regarding its own figures due to commercial sensitivity, thus fomenting argument between the HO and the LSE, which particular businesses are the Home Office protecting?

I'm hoping the responses won't be occupying the same realities...