Clause 8 - Issue etc. of ID cards
Identity Cards Bill
6:30 pm
Mr Des Browne (Minister of State (Citizenship, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism), Home Office; Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Labour)
That is a reasonable request, and if it can be responded to, I will see what can be done.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution. I shall share a general observation with him. I took through the House the Bill that was designed to introduce, and introduced with significant success, an electoral identity card in Northern Ireland in order to combat electoral fraud. We may have to address certain consequences for registration but, broadly speaking, the last election in Northern Ireland was the least criticised for electoral fraud. It was the first election conducted with electoral identity cards. That scheme operated on the basis that a comparatively small number of people needed to have them, because other secure documents with photographic identification were broadly accepted as their equivalent. It was helpful to that debate to try to work out just how many people needed these cards to see what the challenge was. So I will be happy to respond to the hon. Gentleman's request to the extent that it is possible to do so.
I have tried to address the issues that hon. Members have raised, with the honourable exception of the hon. Member for Cotswold, who asked me very specific questions, which I suspect he knew I would not be able to answer in this contribution. Before I invite the hon. Member for Woking to withdraw his amendment, which I oppose, I shall share, with the leave of the Chairman, information relating to carriers' liability figures, which I promised to read for the record if I had them. From December 2002, when the carriers' liability regime changed, my understanding is that £5.6 million of fines were imposed—which was reduced on appeal to £2.97 million—that £1.35 million has been paid so far, and that £125,780 has been waived, with the qualification that the outstanding balance is due within a payment period of 60 days and that some appeals are still pending. Those are the best figures that I can obtain.
Debate adjourned.—[Joan Ryan.]
Adjourned accordingly at twenty-five minutes to Seven o'clock, till Tuesday 25 January at ten minutes past Nine o'clock.