Part 1 (Open to the public)
ITEM NO.
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF COMMUNITY SAFETY
TO THE LEAD MEMBER BRIEFING (CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTORATE)
Monday, 29th January, 2007
TITLE : National ID Card Issues Paper
RECOMMENDATION : For information.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :
This paper outlines some of the issues around the rollout of the National ID Card scheme.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS :
(Available for public inspection) None
ASSESSMENT OF RISK: N/A
SOURCE OF FUNDING: N/A
COMMENTS OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER AND SUPPORT SERVICES
(or his representative):
1. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
Provided by :N/A
2. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Provided by :N/A
3. ICT STEERING GROUP IMPLICATIONS
Provided by:N/A
PROPERTY (if applicable):
HUMAN RESOURCES (if applicable):
CONTACT OFFICER :
Don Brown, Head of Community Safety, x 3596
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): ALL WARDS
KEY COUNCIL POLICIES: Crime & Disorder;
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DETAILS
The Identity Cards Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 30th March 2006. The Act provides
the legal framework required to establish a National Identity Register, and to issue ID cards
to those on the Register. Its main features are:
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Setting out the statutory purposes of the National Identity Register and setting up the
National Identity Register
Establishing powers to issue ID cards
Establishing powers to designate documents as ID cards or as documents to be issued
alongside (e.g. passports)
Setting out what information may be held and establishing safeguards to protect
individuals’ data
Enabling public and private organisations to verify a person’s identity with the person’s
consent before providing services
Defining the circumstances where certain public authorities (such as the police) could
be provided with information without an individual’s consent
Providing for a National Identity Scheme Commissioner to have oversight of the
scheme and to report to the Secretary of State/Parliament
Creating new criminal offences relating to misuse of ID cards and other identity fraud
issues
Prepares for powers to link future access to specified public services to production of
and ID card and/or a check on the Register
Rollout:
From 2008:
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Foreign Nationals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) applying for visas
to come to the UK will have to register and submit biometric information such as
fingerprints and iris scans
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Everyone over the age of 16 applying for a passport will have their details added to the
National Identity Register
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In addition, the Home Secretary has recently announced that they are looking at ways
to register all non-Europeans already in the UK
Until 2010 anyone renewing or getting a passport will be able to opt out of having an ID card
From 2009:
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The first ID cards will be issued
From 2010:
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The Identity and Passport Service will issue “significant volumes” of compulsory ID
cards alongside passports
It is clear that it will be some years before all adults will hold an ID card. The Government
talks about this being a long-term programme with an incremental implementation approach
to allow for contingency plans.
From 2010, all passport applicants will be issued with ID cards. The current legislation does
not make it compulsory for all adults to have an ID card but the Labour Government has said
that if they win the next election they will bring forward legislation to make them compulsory
for all UK citizens over the age of 16 whether they have a passport or not. The
Conservatives and Liberal Democrats oppose the plans. It will not be compulsory to carry
the card with you at all times.
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What information will/will not be stored on the card?
Some 50 items of information have been identified that could be held on the ID card. These
include name/date of birth/address; photograph, fingerprints and other biometric information;
residential status; personal id numbers e.g. National Insurance number, work permit number
etc.; registration and ID card history information (e.g. notifications of lost, stolen or damaged
ID cards); validation and security information such as requests for modification of personal
information.
The government has said that they will not store information about someone’s race, religion,
sexuality, health, criminal record or political beliefs.
Costs of the scheme:
National costs
The Government has recently laid before Parliament a document that outlines the national
costs of this scheme (Identity Cards Act 2006 – First Section 37 Report to Parliament about
the likely cost of the ID cards Scheme, Home Office, October 2006):
Total resource costs of providing passports and ID cards to British and Irish citizens
resident in the UK for October 2006 to October 2016
Cost area
Set up
Operational
Total
Cost for British and Irish citizens
resident in the UK
£290 million
£5,100 million
£5.4 billion
However, The London School of Economics (LSE) has established a group of academics
called The Identity Project. They scrutinise the National Identity Card Scheme. Their
estimates of how much the scheme will cost the UK are:
Best case scenario
£10.6 billion
Worst case scenario £19.2 billion
Costs to the individual
The Government estimates that the new combined passport and ID card will cost £93 to
produce, but the fees people will have to pay in practice have not been set.
The LSE Identity Project estimates that the costs will be, best case £170 per card and
passport, worst case £320.
Costs to other organisations such as local authorities
The Government report on cost estimates excludes costs falling to other organisations. It
says “The decision to use ID cards is for each organisation, hence these costs are outside
the scope of this report”. Clearly there will be costs associated with purchasing card reading
equipment and training costs for staff should organisations choose to use the cards as
means of identity and access to services.
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Implications for local government and other public services:
In Salford, it would be fair to consider that the majority of adults hold passports, but it is
difficult to calculate what percentage of the population will hold an ID card in 2010.
Government figures state that around 8% of UK adults receive a passport each year. The
Government goal is to achieve 80% of adults holding cards by 2013. What is the case is
that unless ID cards are made compulsory in the next parliament, local authorities cannot
rely on them being the sole mechanism for identification of individuals and their entitlement
to services.
As stated above, there will be cost implications around the purchasing of card reading
equipment and training of staff if we do make use of the ID card.
One thing for the local authority to consider is that every person getting a biometric ID card
will need to visit a Passport Office in person. Government acknowledges that currently the
Passport Service (IPS) does not have the capacity or infrastructure to enable this to happen.
The Strategic Action Plan for the National Identity Scheme says that they are to open “69
new local offices to meet and interview first-time applicants for passports, and to prepare for
recording biometrics. These offices will be open in 2007 and will be used for the National
Identity Scheme. Where the network of enrolment centres needs to be further expanded, we
will first seek to use high street offices that are already used by central and local
government.” With these current plans there could be issues of accessibility for Salford
citizens and we may need to consider in the future having such an office integrated into the
Civic Centre complex or other suitable location. It is not clear if there would be any income
generation opportunities of leasing space to the IPS. Nor have possible security issues
been discussed.
With regards to the benefits of local authorities making use of the ID card scheme in their
business, one of the Government's stated purpose of the card is to prevent identity theft and
fraudulent use of public services (e.g. Benefits fraud). Critics of the scheme, however, point
out that only 2.5% of fraudulent claims are about false identity, with the vast majority of
fraudulent claims being about circumstances e.g. work status.
An issue of concern to the local authority is that the Government’s financial report says that
one of the benefits of the scheme is that the information held on the National Identity
Register would provide the basis for more accurate statistical analysis and policy making,
and that by creating a standard population register this would remove the need for a full
census and save the costs of running a census (£207 million in 2001). For the local
authority and other public bodies, the demographic information available through the census
is crucial to strategic planning.
With regard to the Police Service, the Police Federation officially supports the scheme
because ID cards can establish identity. Researchers say that police privately would prefer
that the money to be spent on this scheme was used to increase the number of police
officers on the streets. Another argument says that the problem is more one of catching and
convicting criminals than identifying suspects.
Other biometric systems
During the research for this briefing note, I came across a scheme being rolled out in
Somerset and funded through the Safer, Stronger Communities Fund. For your information,
this scheme uses a bespoke database package that records fingerprints and photos of
patrons of licensed premises. The database allows pub and bar licensees to add
information about the behaviour of their patrons and this information is shared around pubs
that are signed up to the scheme.
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Another scheme is a trial of handheld fingerprint readers that are being tested in ten areas
around the country. The readers are held by traffic police who can scan a motorist’s
fingerprints and compare them to records held on the national database using encrypted
wireless transmission. Apparently, 60% of drivers currently stopped do not give their real
identity. It is not compulsory for drivers stopped to give their fingerprints and civil liberties
groups are against the scheme.
Background Documents:
Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, Explanatory Notes to Identity Cards Act 2006
The Identity Project: an assessment of the UK Identity Cards Bill and its implications, Local
Government Information Unit (LGUI), June 2005
BBC News – various reports
Home Office web information pages
Strategic Action Plan for the National Identity Scheme: Safeguarding your identity, Home
Office, December 2006
Identity Cards Act 2006 – First Section 37 Report to Parliament about the likely cost of the ID
cards Scheme, Home Office, October 2006
The London School of Economics Identity Project – various publications
RMB 11/01/07
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