Identity Cards Bill

I shall speak to my amendments in this group; namely, Amendments Nos. 42 and 45. The amendments are straightforward, but they yet again lift the lid on the Pandora’s Box of difficulties that this Bill will introduce: in this case, concerning the precise arrangements following an individual’s demise. I speak first to Amendment No. 42. Clause 7(d) includes as a reference to an individual’s identity his date and place of birth and, if he has died, the date of his death. The amendment would remove from the list of registrable facts the date of the death of the individuals. Inclusion of such a fact in the register poses several questions, the first of which could be phrased in this way: with whom does the duty to register such a fact lie? This matter was raised in another place, and despite an assurance by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality that it does not impose a burden on the individual’s family or estate, on the face of it, that is exactly what it does. If the responsibility to inform the registrar of the date and fact of death does not rest with the individual’s family, where does it rest? It was suggested in another place that the registrar of births, deaths and marriages will automatically pass the information on to the database after being notified by the estate of a deceased relative, as is the case under the current arrangements. But this does not answer the question in its entirety. There are incidents where formal identification of the dead is a difficult and lengthy process. The terrible aftermath of the tsunami in south-east Asia is a recent example. In such cases, a formal pronouncement of date of death may prove impossible and, as the Bill stands, there is no provision in it to cater for such instances. There are no safeguards in the Bill to ensure that the bereaved family, already facing all the legal difficulties caused by the lack of a formal death certificate, will not be placed under the further administrative burden and given the further anxiety of notifying the national identity registrar. A second question must also be answered: why is the date of death required, rather than the mere record of the fact of death? The Minister in another place admitted that this was a reasonable matter to examine, but no answers seem to have been forthcoming. If the purpose of the requirement is to close down the individual’s file and preserve the integrity of the database, surely it is the mere fact of death, rather than its date, that matters. In the case of a fatal accident inquiry, for example, while it would be clear that an individual has died, the exact time, place and date may remain to be determined. Furthermore, there are cases where the family of the deceased has to begin legal proceedings to gain a declaration of death, an example being the family of the late Lord Lucan. The Bill does not clarify whether the date of death can be a presumed date of death. The requirement to register a date of death therefore needs far more clarification. Without such clarifications and safeguards, the Bill will pave the way for yet more bureaucratic interference in what is already a fraught and difficult process for bereaved families who are waiting for formal identification of their loved ones or going through the probate process after the disappearance of a family member. Amendment No. 45 would resolve the issues outlined above. It would protect the bereaved family from any more bureaucratic interference than would impede the handling of an estate and it would safeguard families from unnecessary and intrusive requests from those administering the database. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of the new subsection raise the issue of the eventuality of someone dying without having provided all the registrable facts that would otherwise have been required. For example, he may have been ill in the few months that preceded death, and his address may have changed numerous times for reasons of treatment. Will the Minister agree, therefore, to the provision that would ensure that in no circumstances would the deceased’s representatives or next of kin find that the grant of probate is delayed while those who are operating the register seek further information about the deceased? Will there be an undertaking that no new entries are made in the register in respect of deceased persons who are not otherwise registered as a result of actions of the registrar? The issue of verification arises again in relation to the procedures on someone’s death. What measures will ensure that the person on the death certificate is verified as the person on the register? At present, if you register a death in England and Wales, you are asked for the date and place of death, the name and surname of the deceased, the date and place of birth, occupation and address, as well as names and the occupation of the husband, where the deceased was a married woman or widow. In addition, the person registering the death is asked whether the deceased received a pension or allowance from public funds, and, if the deceased was married, the date of birth of the surviving widow or widower. This information falls well short of the registrable facts under the Bill, and to rely on date and place of birth alone will not prevent two people sharing the same name from the same town being confused with each other when the database is informed of one’s demise. What, then, is proposed to ensure that the right person is recorded as deceased under the register? Will more information be required when registering a death—passports, for example—and what arrangements are proposed if they lack these documents? Under current arrangements, a death must be registered within five days. A relative cannot possibly be expected to find all the registrable facts in that time, and with over 600,000 deaths each year in the UK, there is bound to be a time delay in verifying the deceased person and ensuring he is the right person in the identity register. What measures will prevent any risk of extending the cruel wait between a death and burial or cremation, due to verification difficulties? These questions lead inevitably to one of the key issues regarding the entire scheme, which will recur throughout this debate—cost. What are the cost ramifications for any resultant change in the issuing of death certificates to meet the compatibility requirements of the identity register, and if there is to be any increase of issue of death certificates, will there be an undertaking that this will not be borne by the family? Paragraph (c) of the proposed subsection introduces safeguards to ensure that the representatives of a deceased person do not face any civil penalty if they do not, or cannot, meet any requirements of the scheme to provide information on the deceased. It would be quite unfair if a grandson, for example, were penalised for not supplying information on the place of birth of his deceased grandfather. Can the Minister give a firm assurance that no charge or penalty will be raised against the relative or representative in such circumstances? I beg to move.