Identity Cards Bill

Having described 90 year-olds as old fogeys, the noble Lord, Lord Phillips, runs the risk of incurring the wrath of the noble Lord, Lord Renton. Were he here, I have got a feeling that the noble Lord, Lord Phillips, would not be feeling too comfortable at this moment. Perhaps we should not dwell on that for too long. The noble Baroness, Lady Seccombe, made a case, but the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart, devastatingly savaged it. I am almost inclined to think that I should not bother to go through my points because they are not half as effective as those made by the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart. I am a bit like the noble Baroness, Lady Scotland, here: I cannot recall another occasion when I so felt moved to agree with him. I see no good reason for exempting people over 70 years old from entitlement to be entered into the register. In the Government’s view, it would unfairly prevent elderly people from taking advantage of the increased security against identity fraud that ID cards will bring, as well as other benefits. It must be remembered that elderly people are increasingly economically active. They take their place at the Dispatch Box. There is a persistent trend of that sort which no doubt will continue. The over-70s age group is likely to use those services which will probably introduce the ID card scheme—the National Health Service being a good example. If elderly people are excluded from the scheme, they may worry that they would be unable to prove their entitlement to a whole range of services. It is planned that mobile enrolment units will be used in order to facilitate the registration of elderly people and those who may have mobility problems. We will also consider concessions and discounts for those on low incomes. We feel that we can deal with the point on the adverse effect on elderly people. The Bill allows for exceptions to be made in terms of compulsion and we could, for example, choose to exempt more elderly people from compulsory registration altogether or provide elderly people with a lifelong card that would not need to be renewed. We have already considered not requiring older citizens to register in paragraph 44 of the Explanatory Notes. It is possible to exclude people over a certain age from the registration requirement under Clauses 6(1) and 41(4), which give the power to apply compulsion to different groups and to make exceptions. We are quite happy to give a commitment that we will continue to develop those ideas because we do not want unfairly to burden elderly people. However, we do not want unfairly to penalise them by not bringing them within the scope of the system and the benefits that the system will bring. I have probably covered most of the points that the noble Baroness raised. For the reasons that I have given, I hope that she will withdraw the amendment.