Cost of driving licences may double to pay for identity cards

David Blunkett announced plans yesterday for Britain's first universal identity card scheme in more than 50 years and said he would fund the idea by raising the price of driving licences and passports.

The Home Secretary told Parliament that the "entitlement card" scheme – which would see newly issued passports and driving licences doubling up as ID cards – could cost £3.1bn and would be needed by all UK residents who wanted to access public services.

He published a consultation document saying the cost of passports and driving licences could more than double from £30 and £29 respectively to pay for the plan.

The Home Office said proposals to allow "poor" sections of the population to be given free ID cards would mean that passports or driving licences may have to go up by £19 to pay for even a simple card. For the more sophisticated card, which would include fingerprint and iris details, the price would have to rise by more than £30.

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: "Those who are very well off, who don't have benefits, who don't have to use the NHS, who opt for private education, will not have to have these cards."

Oliver Letwin, the shadow Home Secretary, accused the Government of having no respect for people's liberties. "In place of clarity and definition, we have obscurity and spin," he said.

Mr Blunkett told him: "I will tell you what I am spinning, I am spinning the right ... of the British people to decide whether they want a sensible way of confirming their own identity." He also hit back at Mr Hughes, calling him an "intellectual pygmy".