Cable wants to cull ID card database

Vince Cable has called for the ID card scheme and other government database projects to be scrapped.

In a speech today at the Liberal Democrat's conference in Bournemouth, the shadow chancellor continued the political debate on cuts, saying money could be better saved by getting rid of the schemes.

He said: "There is no need for vast government databases such as theID card scheme, the so-called super database and the NHS IT scheme."

Earlier this year, public sector analysts Kable said scrapping the controversial ID card scheme would save the government 3 billion alone. The NHS IT scheme has also come under a lot of criticisms due to its 12.7 billion price tag.

Cable concluded his speech by turning it round from cuts to investment. He disagreed with the continued investment into banks and instead suggested "a green future could be realised through real investment" which included green technologies and communications as areas worth looking into.

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.