The Government will shortlist several leading technology companies today to supply the controversial £2 billion biometric identity card scheme despite concerns that the project would not go ahead under a Conservative administration.

The framework deals, which will be signed next week, will qualify the companies to bid on lucrative contracts expected to be offered this year. After a troubled procurement process, only five companies – IBM, Fujitsu, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Thales and EDS – remain in the frame. Accenture, BAE Systems and Steria dropped out of the reckoning.

The announcement looks set to be mired in controversy. The Identity and Passport Service (IPS), the department responsible for the programme, had hoped for a more competitive tendering process involving a longer list of bidders to take part in the final stage of the procurement process. Critics have argued that the credibility of the project will be damaged if all five remaining bidders make the shortlist.

Government sources suggested that at least one company would miss out, and an IPS spokesman said that the service was merely “committed to find a good group of suppliers to take the project forward”.

Insiders suggest that CSC, an American company, is the likeliest to be disappointed. Reports this week suggested that the company’s subcontractors had dropped out, starting with Siemens six months ago and followed by Unisys last month. CSC said that it did not want to comment on the decision until it is announced this morning.

Another source of complaint is the lack of British suppliers among the final few, leading to concerns about where sensitive personal information will be held and how many jobs created by the ID cards programme will be in the UK.

Even though the first cards are scheduled to be issued to foreign citizens this year – and to British citizens next year – there are still considerable risks in a long-term involvement with the ID cards programme.

Yesterday the Conservative Party reaffirmed its commitment to ditch ID cards if it formed the next government. A Tory spokesman said: “We’ve written to the Cabinet Secretary last year, and all the major contractors, putting them on formal notice that we would cancel it. We have asked the Cabinet Secretary to confirm that they have not signed up to any painful cancellation clauses.”

Some have suggested that the Conservative position could result in costlier contracts because the participating companies would have to include the added risk in their costings. The first contracts on offer will relate to desktop infrastructure for IPS, replacing the enrolment process for passports and upgrading the systems for fingerprint matching and storage.

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