Identity Cards Bill

I reassure the noble Lord, Lord Peyton of Yeovil, that this is a Home Office Bill. I know that he always desires to have my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor by my side, but, on this one, to put it colloquially, I am sailing or flying solo. I am quite happy to carry that burden and the noble Lord should not feel that it is too great for me. Clause 4 provides a mechanism for individuals to apply for an ID card. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Phillips of Sudbury, is antipathetic to the Bill. I know that his party would prefer the Bill not to exist. I know that he would prefer there not to be ID cards. They have been a major part of the Government’s agenda for some time. As I said earlier, we have been dealing with the issue, Clause 4 being an integral part of that agenda, since 2001–02. We have been open about the policy. Indeed, the Committee will well remember that it was very much part of the case that was put to the country, with which the public seem to be in tune and which they support, not least by virtue of the fact that they voted with their hearts and their judgment by returning this Government. Clause 4 is key to delivery of the identity cards scheme, because it provides a mechanism by which individuals can be brought into the scheme. An application for a designated document will, in effect, trigger an application for an ID card. The issuing procedures are set out in detail in Clause 8, but the designation of the document must precede any of those procedures where the ID card is issued together with, or as part of, the designated document. So a standalone card could be issued by the Secretary of State under Clause 8 without any documents being designated. The advantages of proceeding like this are that there are already established processes for issuing documents like passports and residence permits, which will form the basis of the work of the ID cards delivery agency. We know already that biometric data will have to be included on our passports next year, albeit that, first, the facial identifiers will primarily be used. So biometric passports are coming anyway. Rollout will be incremental as people come to apply for or renew documents or, in the case of foreign nationals, arrive to stay in the United Kingdom for more than three months. The problems associated with dealing with this introduction in any other way can be minimised by good management. This will allow us to manage it well. As I have indicated already, we intend to provide the facility for people to apply for standalone ID cards if they do not need or want a passport—some people do not want to travel anywhere other than Europe and, therefore, would prefer to have an ID card—or if they have received a passport shortly before the scheme starts and would like an ID card as a convenient way of proving identity. It is important to bear in mind that the Bill does not designate any documents. It gives the power to designate documents by order—a process which requires approval from both Houses subject to affirmative resolution procedure. It is also important that the only documents that can be designated are those which are issued with statutory authority or which a Minister of the Crown or Northern Ireland department is authorised or required to issue. Of course, I hear what the noble Lord, Lord Phillips of Sudbury, says in relation to the Law Society and others which have been designated. Indeed, the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee has commented in its report on the Bill that the power to designate documents which are issued under a statutory power, but not by Ministers, is potentially very wide—a point that was also made by the noble Lord, Lord Phillips. If we limit the power to documents issued by Ministers, we would not be able to designate documents such as firearms certificates issued by chief officers of police or documents issued under a statutory power by a private agency. Having said that, I must make it clear that we have no current intention to designate those documents and we are giving very careful consideration to whether we should limit the power of designation as suggested by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. I have been as clear as I can in speaking to the amendments in relation to Clause 4 so that I can assist the Committee to understand the ambit of the designated documents about which we are directly speaking. With that, I hope that Members of the Committee will feel content to allow this clause to stand part of the Bill. We will give careful consideration to the comments made by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee.