Identity Cards Bill

I am grateful to the Minister for answering fully those questions avoided by Mr McNulty in another place. He has been helpful in taking forward the debate. For example, his response in respect of Amendment No. 96 makes it possible for me not to bring forward a further amendment on Report. Indeed, I suspect that most if not all of the other amendments in the group may not need to be tabled again. The Minister’s answer in regard to the travel arrangements for stateless persons is helpful. One has to be careful regarding this issue for security reasons while remaining sensitive to those who for proper reasons seek to travel. I am of course intrigued by the underlying argument put forward by the Government on some of these amendments that they have in hiding around the corner a list of documents for future designation. We shall turn our attention to that later today. I shall not trespass on later amendments by going into my unease at this point. Questions still need to be asked about the sheer range of numbers, in particular the possible reissue of the number on the national identity register. Some confusion could arise in the future. I am old enough to have had a schoolgirl crush on Patrick McGoohan in ““The Prisoner””, in which he was Number 6. He would say, ““I am not a number””. Here not only are we going to be numbers, we will be a heck of a lot of numbers. One of the arguments in support of identity cards is that this will be a convenient method of identification, so that one would not have to hold a raft of different means of proving identity. However, the Minister’s response has been helpful in terms of being able to winnow what will need to be brought back on Report. I shall read Hansard carefully and, if I may, I shall notify noble Lords who have taken part in the debate of the amendments that will not need to be brought forward again on Report.