Identity Cards Bill

MPs have sent the Identity Cards Bill back to the Lords amid continuing parliamentary deadlock.

The Commons voted by 292 to 241 in favour of the government on Thursday, a majority of 51.

The continuing dispute centres on proposals to ensure that from 2008 anyone renewing or applying for a passport must also have their details recorded on the national identity register.

Ministers say that the individual details will be recorded in any event as the UK introduces biometric passports.

But both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats continue to oppose the move, saying the link breaches Labour's election pledge to introduce a voluntary scheme.

 

Stakeholder Response: IEE  

 

Dr Alf Roberts, chief executive of the IEE, said: "We are not addressing the political or social issues but we strongly believe the technical challenges have yet to be fully explored.

 

"As an institution we have more than 120,000 members many of whom have experience in the practical issues involved in developing complex databases, as well as the design and management of trustworthy and dependable information systems.

 

"If this project goes ahead the government must ensure there is technological research followed by rigorous prototyping with public involvement."

  

 

Stakeholder Response: Finance and Leasing Association

 

 

 

A spokesman for the Finance and Leasing Association told ePolitix.com: "Overall, FLA is supportive of the Bill to introduce a national identity card scheme.

 

"The key to the success of the scheme lies in how well the data is gathered and how well it is maintained once in force.

 

"Of principal importance is how the cards will be used.

 

"We hope that the system will be watertight to minimise scope for fraud (e.g. change of address).

 

"There are a number of issues we wish to highlight, notably:

• Practical implications of ID Cards
  
• Verification of lost / stolen / forged cards
  
• Integrity and accessibility of the data contained in the National Register
  
• Systems and technology requirements and associated costs

"FLA takes the prevention and investigation of fraud very seriously indeed.

 

"It is something on which our members have worked collaboratively for some years. We take a leading role in the credit industry in initiating imaginative projects in this area, and we maintain a number of standing groups of members on fraud-related issues."

 

Stakeholder Response: British Computer Society

 

A spokesperson for the British Computer Society said: "The BCS is concerned that if the government is to embark on this very ambitious project, that the skills, products and budgets are available to enable the project to be completed successfully. 

"Our view on the current bill is that:

(a) The scope and purpose of the identity card is unclear, with a number of different stated purposes. Unless you have a tight and fixed definition of its purpose, defined success criteria, etc it is difficult to see how such a system could be taken forward.

(b) This will undoubtedly be a large and centralised system as currently outlined in the bill, and this type of system attracts a high risk of failure. In the case of identity cards this may be both in meeting the technical requirement and  in meeting the user acceptability aspects of the system.  We have yet to see how this might be addressed.

(c) Thinking needs to be that this is an identity process and system - the actual card is of secondary importance by comparison with the logistics of proving the citizen's identity beyond reasonable doubt. Less attention has been paid to this area than it deserves.

(d) There needs to be more attention paid to how such a card might be used by other central and local government systems charged with delivering the services to which the card might operate as an entitlement card.

"One might also question whether the technology to build such a system exists today in a robust and usable form."