sorry for the thread drift, but what happened to this then?
The changes that came into effect today though include:
Change to the expiry date of a card. A card will now expire two years from the end of the month in which the security clearance was granted. For example if your clearance is granted on 15 Dec 2010. The card will expire on 31 Dec 2012. Under the old system it would have expired on 30 Nov 2012. Remember though, this only relates to the security clearance and does not take into account how long an issuing body takes to get your card printed and delivered to you.