Identity Cards Bill

I hope that I shall be able to assist the Committee. Clause 2(4) is intended to provide the flexibility needed to allow details already available to be recorded of a person where it would be useful to have those details on the register—the noble Lord, Lord Crickhowell, foreshadowed some of these reasons—despite the fact that they are currently not entitled to be registered. We believe that flexibility is necessary in that regard. An entry can be made only where it is consistent with the statutory purposes and can contain only registrable facts. Amendment No. 53 would remove that flexibility but we believe that there are good reasons to keep it. One example of how this could be used is to record failed applicants or those who are about to be removed. This would ensure that any further attempts to register would be flagged. Another example of how this could be used would be where a person applies for, and is issued with, a biometric visa in anticipation of coming to the United Kingdom. In this case it might be useful to have this information recorded in the register so that if they did exercise their right to stay longer than three months, the process of getting a residence permit/ID card would be made easier. There are also cases where it would be useful for national security reasons to have information recorded on the register about an individual who would not be entitled to register or who had not yet applied for a card. Amendment No. 144 would prevent, by removing Clause 8(5), the issue of cards to anyone who was not required to have one, but whose registrable facts were on the register. Some may consider that this is an undesirable proposition. However, there are circumstances which can be envisaged where this power is necessary—for example, a foreign national who has been resident in the United Kingdom for less than three months and is therefore not entitled or, indeed, required to register. While it is not common, it is not impossible that a foreign national in this position could commit a criminal offence and have his passport withdrawn as part of his bail conditions. Without his passport he may have no way to prove his identity, but his registrable facts can be recorded under Clause 2(4), and an ID card issued under the provision which we are discussing here. A more common example could be a young person who has not quite attained the age of 16 but is applying for a passport. If he were a few months older, he could also apply for an ID card. It appears logical to us that in these instances both should be issued at the same time. It makes sense that where a person is entered on the register at their own request under Clause 2(4), despite not being entitled to be registered, the Secretary of State has power to issue him with a card in appropriate circumstances. That might be appropriate where, for example, someone visits the United Kingdom very regularly without actually being resident here or returns from abroad to take up residence again. We envisage that those circumstances could easily arise. I hope that I have given examples to demonstrate why we need flexibility and why it should be provided. I hope that the noble Earl, Lord Northesk, will feel able to withdraw the amendment.