The Government's Credibility Has Got Lost In The Post

One thing that the Labour Government will be forever associated with is IT fiascos.

This is the Government that is eager to move towards a National Indentity Register, with its accompanying produce-on-demand ID cards that will protect us all from al-Qa'eda/floods/crime/bird flu/foot and mouth/... (sorry, I can't remember what the current problem that produce-on-demand ID cards are the solution for. There have been so many that one loses track of them!)

I have got to the stage where there are few news stories that really surprise me.

Today is different.

Today, there is one of those headlines where you think, "Good grief!" and wonder what can possibly happen next.

Government incompetence has impacted on the parents of every child.

There is a benefit called Child Benefit. This is not means-tested. It goes to the millionaire parents in the mansion. An equal amount goes to the single mother in the council flat.

And Her Majesty's Revenues & Customs sent CDs (yes, that archaic) with this information to the National Audit Office. Which got lost in the post.

Yes, names, addresses, National Insurance numbers, dates of birth, bank account details for practically every family has gone missing.

This Government passed the Data Protection Act 1998. There are European Union laws on data protection. Even someone with the basic level of data protection training that one would have in an office would not do something so stupid as Government penpushers at HMRC did.

We are warned about the dangers of identity theft. Why bother when the Government treats the personal data of people as something that doesn't need protecting? Somewhere, there will be criminals and fraudsters who will think that every Christmas for the next century have come early.

And this is the Government that plans a National Identity Register! We will be legally obliged to hand over to the Government personal information that could at any time get into the hands of fraudsters.

I read that Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will make a statement to the House of Commons. I don't think he should. It's his civil servants who are to blame, and until recently, there was a principle that Government ministers carried the can for serious mistakes made by their departments.

Move over, Darling. The statement to the House of Commons should be made by your successor as Chancellor of the Exchequer. But you can listen from the backbenches.