ID cards to affect foreign consul funding

[Dawie]

Government departments are unsure of the effect ID cards will have on foreign consuls, politics.co.uk can reveal today.

Groups representing British citizens in trouble overseas are voicing concerns about the effects ID cards will have on the already stretched resources of Britain's consular system.

Consuls are funded through a levy placed on passport renewal fees. But the introduction of ID cards will mean British citizens can travel around Europe without the use of a passport, relying instead on the biometric data on the cards to prove their identity.

http://www.politics.co.uk/news/foreign- ... 476812.htm

[SunBlue]

I think that consulates are funded more for the appaling visa fees than for fees for people who lost passports abroad.
Let's say any embassy/consulate around the world - how many people go there to apply for a visa in a day and how many go telling they lost the passport?