Identity Cards Bill

I am grateful to the noble Baroness. I am mildly pleased that the Government will consider the recommendations of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, which could be helpful. There is obviously a very big debate, which I tried not to have, so I will not be provoked by the noble Baroness’s remarks on the manifesto commitments and all that. However, I cannot resist touching on her reference to firearms certificates. Of course, a wonderful example of a catatonic failure—if one could call it that—is the failure over many years to have a national register that gives details of all firearms certificates. If we cannot manage that—a few tens of thousands of certificates—one begins to reasonably wonder how on earth we can manage this uniquely gargantuan central state register. The noble Baroness made a good point about passports. Why in heaven’s name can we not be done with 85 per cent of the population holding passports and the other 15 per cent, if they want, having a document that carries the same information as passports and that is it? There would be no need for a central register or for £20 billion of expenditure and we would all be happy. Clause 4 agreed to. Clause 5 [Applications relating to entries in Register]: [Amendment No. 103 not moved.] [Amendment No. 104 had been withdrawn from the Marshalled List.]