The Government's plans for a national, compulsory ID cards scheme will create a practical, simple and secure way for ordinary citizens to protect and prove their identity - not a Big Brother-style surveillance tool said the Home Secretary, David Blunkett.

On November 17, 2004, Mr Blunkett used a speech to the Institute of Public Policy Research to restate the case in favour of a secure national ID cards scheme, which four out of five citizens support.

The Home Secretary drew a contrast between the basic information that would be held on individuals, backed by strict privacy safeguards and the far more detailed personal information people volunteer, often without realising it, through supermarket loyalty or credit cards.

Mr Blunkett said:

"The ability to prove one's identity reliably is an ever-more important aspect of modern life. A national ID cards scheme will provide a "gold standard" for doing that, protecting individuals from the modern-day crime of identity theft, protecting public services for use by those who are properly entitled to them, and helping us tackle crime, terrorism, and illegal immigration and working.

"They will also give people a simple and secure means of verifying their identity to help them travel freely and complete everyday transactions securely, simply and with confidence.

"Critics of the national ID cards scheme who suggest that it would threaten our privacy should be reassured that under the proposed scheme only very basic personal details such as name, address, date and place of birth will be held. Alongside this will be "biometric" information such as the imprint of a finger or scan of an iris, which establish unique personal identity. The extent of the information held will be strictly limited and subject to tight controls. Only Parliament will be able to extend or change what information is held by the scheme.

"The National Identity Register will hold only the information that is needed to demonstrate identity and it certainly will not hold information such as medical or tax records. Accredited organisations such as banks will be able to check identity against the database, but will not be able to access the information held there. Suggestions of Big Brother-style surveillance are ludicrous. For the 85 per cent of UK households who hold at least one store loyalty card, a far greater and growing database of personal information will already be held by private industry.

"Store loyalty cards keep continuously updated details such as the size of a person's household, whether they're employed or not and the ages of their children, besides what they like to eat, where and how often they shop and even what brand of toothpaste they use. If you do hold a store loyalty card - and the odds are that you do - you have already consented to all this information being repeatedly shared with other companies without any requirement to ask again for your approval.

"Safeguards to ensure protection of privacy are a critical part of the national identity cards scheme and I would not be prepared to let the scheme go forward if I were not convinced that we have a level of protection which ensures personal information is secure.

"The role played by the National Identity Scheme Commissioner will provide an independent view, with powers of oversight not only of the way in which accredited third parties perform identity checks against the Register, but of the whole scheme and of the way in which the legislation operates. The Commissioner will be responsible for overseeing how information is used, what it is used for, how it is recorded and how ID cards are used.

"Liberties will be strengthened, not weakened, through an ID cards scheme which will help everyone protect their own identities and access the public services to which they are entitled."

The Queen's Speech, November 23, 2004, has confirmed that the government will press ahead with its plans for the introduction of identity cards in the coming session of parliament.

David Blunkett wants to introduce voluntary ID cards alongside new biometric passports from 2008, with a view to them becoming compulsory between 2010 and 2012, which will require separate legislation.

Blunkett believes the cards, containing unique data such as fingerprints or iris scans, will enable authorities to better crack down on immigration abuses, pre-empt terrorist attacks and keep track of criminals.

The Home Office also argues that they will help protect against identity fraud and provide checks on a person's right to access employment and services such as the NHS.

Building on the work already taking place to include biometric data in passports, the bill will establish a new executive agency to issue the cards.

One safeguard, to counter criticism that the move is an affront to civil liberties allowing authorities to spy on citizens, is the new post of National Identity Scheme Commissioner, created to act as an ombudsman.

Blunkett said "stringent safeguards" would be attached to the use of the database collating ID card information.

"Identity cards would help us tackle the organised criminals and terrorists who use fake identities to carry out their crimes," the home secretary said.

"They would also aid the fight against illegal working and immigration abuse, enable easier and more convenient access to services and ensure free public services are only used by those entitled to them.

"The Identity Cards Bill will set out the stringent safeguards we want for the use of the cards, what information they contain and who can access it."

Opponents claim the ID card will be a major invasion of personal privacy by the state, and could lead to police and security services having access to a wide range of information about individuals - an allegation denied by the Government.

The policy is set to be a key plank of David Blunkett's bid to be tough on law and order in the run-up to the general election.

Despite scepticism about the effectiveness of the scheme on all sides of the Commons, the home secretary is keen to push on with his pet project.

For more information please refer to http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk

findBIOMETRICS
November 23, 2004