Mark Ballard writes in The Register:
The government has scrapped its carrot and stick id card for yoofs after realising that the costs of developing its computer system were beginning to outweigh the benefits it could deliver.
Public Sector Forums (PSF) said it learned of the scheme’s demise from a memo leaked from the Department for Education [...]

Bill Goodwin writes in Computer Weekly:
The government’s proposed ID card scheme is likely to be as risky as the NHS National Programme for IT, and could cost twice the estimated £5.4bn price tag, an independent review has concluded.
The review, the first to analyse the project based on the expected demand for ID card services, concludes [...]

Steve Boggan writes in The Guardian:
Earlier this year, Tony Blair announced plans to allow government departments to share more information about us, while rubbishing the suggestion that this would lead to the creation of a “Big Brother” super-database. At the moment, he said, over-zealous rules on data-sharing leave government departments hamstrung. Each one stores information [...]

The BBC reports:
The Conservatives have appointed the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens to lead a working group on creating a border police force.
They would use money saved from scrapping planned identity cards, as well as savings in the Home Office budget, to fund the plans.
…
Mr Cameron said: “The government’s big idea to try to [...]

Patrick Wintour writes in The Guardian about:
… a tough new government strategy that will … see new attempts to block illegal immigrants from having access to public services such as housing, benefits, and medical help, as well as to private services, such as banking.
Apparently ID cards are at the centre of this plan:
The home secretary, [...]