Identity Cards Bill

I shall deal with the amendments in turn. Amendment No. 41 removes the date and place of birth, as well as date of death, from the list of registrable facts. One of the main reasons for holding details of date and place of birth is, fairly obviously, in order to differentiate between two individuals with the same name. I am sure noble Lords could imagine the confusion of trying to differentiate between all the John Smiths in the United Kingdom without being able to refer to the date of birth. In addition, the International Civil Aviation Organisation requires that a valid travel document must show the individual’s date of birth. If the date and place of birth are not held as registrable facts, this information will not be able to be printed on the face of the card. In those circumstances the ID card would therefore not be valid for travel. This would remove one of the main benefits of the ID card scheme, that of travelling within the EU using only the card without the passport book, which is how many people travel within the EU currently. A number of the age-related benefits of the ID card scheme would be reduced by this measure. Without the date of birth printed on the front of the card, it would be no use in preventing the sale of age-restricted products—cigarettes and alcohol come to mind—to those not entitled to purchase them. Amendments Nos. 41 and 42 would remove the date of an individual’s death from the list of registrable facts. It may not at first seem necessary to include date of death, but it is important not only to retain records of people who have died, but also to include the date of death in the list of registrable facts and on the register itself. That is to prevent fraudsters from assuming the identity of individuals who have died. The noble Earl, Lord Northesk, made reference to The Day of the Jackal. We understand the impact that can have when he makes reference to that. Amendment No. 45 seeks to clarify that the Identity Cards Bill places no—