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£1.3m spent on ID card marketing so far

Posted by Gary Flood on Thu, 11/03/2010 - 18:26
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The Identity and Passport Service has published details of its marketing and communications spend so far on the National Identity Scheme (ID card) – an outlay that equals £300 per applicant so far.

A sum of £1.3m has been splashed out so far, covering online and offline advertising as ways to communicate with businesses and consumers in the North West and London, the government revealed in a written Parliamentary answer.

"The messages, both online and offline, [have] highlighted general issues around the risks of identity, theft and fraud and encouraged people to be 'idsmart' by being aware of the risks," Home Office Minister Meg Hillier said in a response to Conservative MP, Nick Hurd.

The Home Office's executive agency has also spent £87,700 on marketing and £11,930 on 'branding' in relation to ID cards and the National Identity Register.

Hillier told MPs the marketing expenditure was used for developing and printing brochures, leaflets and application guidance notes for consumers.

She also confirmed IPS has spent nothing on public relations so far on the project.

Separately Hillier said IPS has received 4,307 ID card applications from people living in the North West.

ID cards were first introduced for foreign nationals living in the UK in November 2008 and are now available to UK citizens living in the North West as a trial and on a voluntary basis. The scheme was expanded to London in February, where cards are now available to 16-24 year olds.

The Home Office plans to make the cards available to the entire population in 2012.

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£1.3m spent on ID card marketing so far

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