National Issues
ID cards
The Government plan to introduce a national system of Identity Cards linked to biometric passports.
Under the Government’s original plans, the Home Office had wanted to force everyone to buy an ID card when they apply for a new passport from 2008. Conservative opposition in the House of Lords has meant that there will now be an opt-out from having to receive a card until the year 2010.
This remains, however, a very poor scheme. I have, like many who have studied the details, the following concerns:
1. Cost
On cost, there is a massive bill of £19 billion. The cost to individuals is estimated by Government to be around £90 for a combined passport and ID card, though some independent reports have put the true cost of the card at closer to a staggering and uncceptable £300. While it is unlikely that all of this cost will be passed on to the individual, it is important that we closely watch the Government to ensure the cost does not spiral out of control.
2. Will it really work to counter terrorism and fraud?
On effectiveness, it will fail to stop terrorism, illegal immigration, fraud and ID theft. Under Mr Blair’s Bill, ID cards would not cover more than 26 million admissions to Britain each year for short-term visits, which means its ability to prevent terrorism is very limited.
People who work in the black economy already ignore national insurance numbers or tax codes and it is not clear how an ID card would change this.
The Department for Work and Pensions have themselves said that fraud based on a misleading identity accounted for only 5 per cent of all benefit fraud.
Terrorists posing as tourists can come into the UK without an ID card! And as for home grown terrorists there is no evidence that ID cards would have stopped, for example, the July 7th bombings in London. The focus should be on firmer border controls, with a dedicated border control force to help prevent those who should not come to the UK, and to track down those immigrants who have overstayed their visas. Better efforts to encourage social cohesion would also be welcomed to ensure that people who are born and brought up in the UK do not fall into extremism.
3. Will privacy be protected?
On privacy, all our fears have been confirmed: it is still a massive reversal of the proper relationship between the citizen and the state. There will be an extensive database containing details of individuals, and the Government’s track record in dealing with such databases gives me no confidence. The Connecting for Health, Child Support Agency, Passport Agencies and Criminal Records Bureau IT systems have all been over-budget and have not performed to standard. I have serious concerns that the ID card system may suffer the same fate. Would you trust the Labour Government not to mess this up?
For these reasons, the Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis MP has made it clear that if the Conservative Party wins the next election and he takes over as Home Secretary, his first act will be to do away with the ID Card Bill. And we will use the money saved to fight crime properly: a border police force will be a priority.