The government must clarify the different roles of electronic passport documents and the proposed national biometric identity card, according to an influential committee of MPs.

From 2009, second generation epassports will hold digitally stored fingerprints as well as the current facial biometric.

But areas of overlap between the travel document and the ID card scheme now going into procurement remain confused, says the Public Accounts Committee.

"Most of us are going to have to have both an ePassport and an identity card, " said chairman Edward Leigh MP.

"The Home Office needs to explain why an ePassport could not serve both purposes.
"At the very least, the Identity and Passport Service should reduce areas of overlap as the identity card project progresses and make sure that the combined fee for the two documents is minimised," he said.

The biometric passport scheme was introduced in 2006 to comply with US border control regulations requiring a facial biometric.

Concerns remain over the technical details of the next generation of documents. The chips to be used are only guaranteed to work for two years, though the passports themselves have a ten-year lifespan.

"The public will want to be told just how durable the chip is and, if it stops working, who will pay for a replacement," said Leigh.

"The prospect of ePassport failures contributing to yet further delays at border controls is not an enticing one."