Clause 16 - Procedure for regulations under s. 15
Identity Cards Bill
5:15 pm
Mr Jon Owen Jones (Cardiff Central, Labour/Co-operative)
Further to those questions, I largely understand how the system would work, but there are a few anomalies that I would like explained.
I understand that where services are arranged, organised and paid for by the Scottish Executive or the Welsh Assembly, then they can determine the identity requirements to access those services.
For example, if primary school services in Scotland or Wales were being accessed, Scotland or Wales would determine whether they wanted ID cards to be used or not. The same would apply if general practitioner services in either of those countries were being accessed.
That is fair enough, because the money that pays for those services comes out of the Scottish or Welsh blocks. But what happens with a service such as housing benefit, which is administered by local authorities? Local authorities are administered by either the Scottish Executive or the Welsh Assembly, but the financing for housing benefit comes direct from the Treasury. In that case, it does not make sense that the determination of whether people have entitlement or not should be a devolved matter.
Another example of a possible anomaly would be university education. Access to, and support for, university education is administered by local authorities, but, depending on the university attended, the funding may come from Welsh sources, the Scottish block or directly from Treasury support. I am not sure that it is as clear in that case where the control of entitlement should come from.
This matter may also apply to hospitals. Hospital services remain fairly integrated—although they are becoming more disintegrated by the day between Scotland, Wales and England. People may access tertiary care in any of those countries regardless of which country they are from—although they are much more likely to access it in London as this is where most tertiary care occurs. Most acute care for people who live in the border regions of mid-Wales and north Wales is accessed in England. Can the Minister explain this matter?
It is reasonable and easy to understand why there should be different arrangements for entitlement in areas where the service is supplied and administered by the Scottish or Welsh block. But there are a number of anomalies such as housing benefits, universities and access to some hospital care.