 In the UK, the first ID cards will be issued by late 2008, reaffirmed Home Office minister Jaqui Smith. The first identity cards will be issued to foreign nationals from November 25, with 40,000 expected to be in circulation by April 2009. From 2010, the cards will be issued on a voluntary basis to young people, and to the rest on the population from 2011/12. The government just defined the role of "ID card commissioner" who will be given stronger powers by the government, in an attempt to convince the public their data will be safe under the scheme. This watchdog will scrutinize the way the scheme is implemented and managed, how information is stored and how ID cards are used by organizations, and will work closely with the Information Commissioner. Manchester Airport and London City Airport will be the first to trial compulsory cards for their workers. The Home Office will invite high-street businesses, such as Royal Mail, banks, shops and private firms, to tender to be biometrics enrolment centers for the National Identity Scheme, necessary to issue the ID cards. People will have all ten fingerprints and their face scanned. Biometric data will then be passed on to the Government's Identity and Passport Service for inclusion on the new National Identity Register.
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