Identity Cards Bill

Banks and credit agencies certainly like proof of identity—in fact they very much depend on them. I am confident that a national identity card will be one of those key documents, perhaps one of the most important documents, that banks, credit agencies and so on will make use of in confirming someone’s identity. Currently they use the plastic and paper version of the driving licence or ask to see someone’s passport for the verification of identity. We do not take exception to that, rather we celebrate it. The identity card register will be of little use as a tool of surveillance. The ID cards Bill contains a number of safeguards that will preserve the privacy of individuals. Clause 14 enables checks to be made on the register with the consent of the individual in order to provide an identity verification service. This clause limits the information that may be provided to the organisation as part of the check. That includes information as set out in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Schedule 1: photographs, the signature and information concerning whether the ID card is valid; voluntary information and security questions. This limitation on the information that may be checked means that information falling in other parts of Schedule 1, such as the records of provision of information, may not be provided to organisations verifying identity. In addition, the identity cards agency will be accrediting user organisations based on the type of information they are requesting provision of, as well as the justification of why they are requesting it. We will also reserve the right to audit any user organisation processes to ensure that they remain compliant with the ultimate sanction for those who misuse information; that is, the removal of accreditation. The Government recognise the concerns of organisations and individuals who, for many reasons, might wish to limit the information that may be checked. We are examining the technical possibility of this as part of the work on considering how the verification service for identity cards might operate. Information may be disclosed without consent to security and intelligence agencies to ensure that the scheme benefits the work of those organisations by supporting their stated statutory purposes. The police, Customs and the Inland Revenue may also be provided with registrable facts held, minus the audit log of card use for law enforcement and related purposes. Provision of information regarding card usage to those bodies would apply only in cases of serious crimes. The Bill ensures that provision of information without consent will be properly regulated and subject to independent oversight. So I would argue that those safeguards have been put in place and will protect our wider society from the surveillance which the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, believes is the real purpose behind the introduction of an ID card scheme together with a register. The noble Lord, Lord Phillips, made one assertion which it is only right that I deal with in a little more detail in order to make it clear. He said that commercial organisations would have access to the register. I think that that was his allegation. I want to reassure the Committee that there will be no open access to information held on the register. Private companies will not be able to access or buy national identity register entries. However, it is right to spell it out that only with the consent of the ID card holder will banks or other approved businesses be able to verify identity by checking an ID card against the national identity register. It is fair to say that this would involve confirming in the main that the card is valid, that it has not been reported lost or stolen, and that the information shown on the card is accurate. But it could also allow identity information not shown on the face of the card, such as a home address, to be provided—although again only with the consent of the cardholder. Information may not be provided without the cardholder’s consent to any private sector organisation. It is important that that is clearly understood; I hope that I have answered the point and thus dealt with the issue of open access. We do not want there to be any misunderstanding on the matter. Noble Lords have remarked throughout our debates that they want to see clarity and transparency. We are trying to approach these issues in exactly that spirit.