When I have had the time to look around the Intertubes thingy looking for information about identity management, government identification schemes, risk management and related topics, I do not find much information regarding the goals of government.

Can you help me on this, please? Here in the UK, where the issue had multiple triggers (terrorism, illegal immigration, benefits fraud, rebuild of the NHS, need to address U.S. passport protocols), it is particularly difficult to find a list of what they want the end product to do.

If someone can point me to a statement or article that defines the user requirements for a large, centralized database of information about all UK residents, that might be a clue as to what the real goals might be.

But I suspect that might be difficult to lay hands on, in part because I imagine that the various departments are institutionally incapable of communicating this information with each other.

So, as I am still quite an agnostic on this issue, I will try and list what I would want an integrated multi-purpose citizen identification programme to be able to do. I hope then (with your help) to unpack the requirements for analysis of feasibility, cost, risk to client, risk to user.

The first issue is there would be multiple clients. The Home Office, which is now two, one dealing with what is loosely termed homeland security issues and another dealing with the criminal justice issue. I think it might be easier to list sub-units who may piggyback requirements onto an original specification.

Client list:

HMRC: Assist in identifying illegal immigrants.
Prison and probation: Assist in monitoring parolees
Criminal justice: Assist in detecting fraud, particularly relating to benefits
Job Centre: As in criminal justice
DWP: Assist in pension administration
MOT: Assist in administration, identify uninsured drivers
DOH: Assist NHS NPfIT in joining up transmission of patient records, reducing medical error

Then there are indirect stakeholders, who don’t have specific citizen information requirements, but would greatly benefit from access to a completed database:
MI5 and MI6
Police departments
Crown Prosecution Service
The other half of HMRC–the part that deals with taxes
SOCA

Who am I leaving out?

When this list has been vetted, we will try and compile a list of user requirements for each.

We will then begin the merry task of seeing if one system is feasible at the level of accuracy needed. I think that only then can we estimate the threat level to civil liberties. Notice I am not saying a word about cost. The price of a system means nothing in and of itself. If we have a clear idea of benefits and potential savings, we can put a price tag into perspective.

But looking at the list, I think one term will be paramount in any bid specification document–the ability to fail gracefully.