Identity Cards Bill

moved Amendment No. 145:"Page 7, line 35, at end insert ““and who has consented to be issued with an ID card””" The noble Lord said: This amendment relates to Clause 8, which, as the Minister said, is to do with the issue of ID cards. Subsection (5) says that in ““prescribed cases””—and here is another example of vast shoals of secondary legislation to come, because those cases will be prescribed in the future—"““an ID card may be issued to an individual who—""(a) is not required to be issued with one; but””—" and this is the point—"““(b) is an individual about whom the prescribed registrable facts are recorded in the Register””." My amendment goes on to say,"““and who has consented to be issued with an ID card””." It seems wrong to me that a citizen can have an ID card thrust on him or her and that that would be the case, without the words that I seek to insert. One could have a situation in which this clause is used instead of Clause 6 to foist—one might say—identity cards on anyone whom the Secretary of State likes, provided of course that he has prescribed that in the way required by the clause. The provisions under the clause that will give the details of prescription in this and many other subsections will be introduced under negative procedure, which gives Members of this Chamber the least chance to effectively amend or overturn a statutory instrument. I beg to move.