THE Home Office is in danger of slipping behind with plans to roll out identity cards, after setting itself targets that could prove too ambitious, an IT industry leader has said.

The Government is due to start building a national identity register in 2008, when it also plans to start issuing biometric residence permits and visas to foreigners. It is due to issue the first ID cards in 2009.

Fears are rising that, with contractors not in place and bidding consortiums unconfirmed, the schedule could be delayed.

Nick Kalisperas, a director of Intellect, the trade association for the IT industry, questioned whether the Government had left enough time. “We’re approaching the end of 2006 . . . if you think about how long the project will take, by the time you get to delivery stage it will probably be past 2008,” he said.

Mr Kalisperas said that the Government had set itself targets that were “very ambitious” and said that he would be calling for it to help the IT industry to understand better what its aims are.

The ID cards programme is already running behind its original schedule, which would have seen contractors appointed to develop the project in the spring.

John Reid, the Home Secretary, put the programme on hold in July with a review of it. Contractors considering seeking work await the results of his review before finalising their own proposals.

The Home Office is today to deliver its first six-monthly cost report on the ID cards project. Past figures suggest that the cost of running the scheme will be about £584 million per year. That will cover verifying information and issuing cards.

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