Identity Cards Bill

moved Amendment No. 50:"Page 3, line 1, leave out ““Regulations made by the Secretary of State may”” and insert ““The Secretary of State may by order””" The noble Lord said: In moving Amendment No. 50, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 65. The amendments concern Clause 2, which is an important part of the whole framework of the national register. It sets out who can or must be registered in the register. In the framework nature of the Bill, many powers are given to the Secretary of State under, for example, Clause 2 (2), (3) and (4) to prescribe or regulate who is entitled to be registered, what description of citizen or resident is to be registered, and so on. The end of Clause 2—and, indeed, the end of Clause 3—makes clear that, except as regards modification of the age of the citizen—we have just talked about whether it will be 16 or 18 years of age—the discretions of the Secretary of State shall be exercisable by negative resolution. This is a central part of the framework of the legislation and all the discretions in this clause should be exercisable by the affirmative process. I beg to move.