Is it public concern about RFID chips or is it civil liberties hype? After all, Tesco just wants to sell more.  The real threat to privacy is the public sectorgathering citizen data into one pot.

Part of this "trade" is the belief that ID cards deliver better services and lower taxes through improved targeting of resources.  To target resources you need to know who you are spending the cash on.  With 80m NI numbers but only 60m eligible citizens the government has little idea.  The result is scattergun spending, which may hit its target only 65% of the time, civil servants who can't be held to account, and a raft of high-profile costly IT project failures.

Put this in perspective.  Billions are being pumped into the NHS to target services.  Yet there are 2m more NHS numbers than there are patients.  That equates to a one-in-25 chance of not hitting the right patient with the right treatment.  No wonder 20% of patients with health problems report errors over the last two years.

The numbers may be debatable but the message is clear.  The government has little proof whether its data is good or bad.  Until it gets its act together waste will dominate.  In the meantime, at least RFID chips hold out the promise of cheaper goods.

Adrian McKeon

Managing Director

Infoshare