Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Assistant Chief Whip, Whips; Cotswold, Conservative)

Will the Minister answer one simple question? When a passport is withdrawn as a result of an offence under the Football Spectators Act 1989 and the identity card as a valid travel document is also withdrawn, how will the people involved access other Government services? If they cannot, the provision could be a real imposition. A solution to the problem is that presumably it would be possible to bar electronically the cards from exiting the country. How will the system work?

Mr Des Browne (Minister of State (Citizenship, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism), Home Office; Kilmarnock & Loudoun, Labour)

The hon. Gentleman has raised a reasonable point. In the event that, under the Football Spectators Act 1989 and the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, identity cards that are suitable for travel are surrendered as well as passports in connection with football orders, he is absolutely right. Those individuals will have to be allowed to have an identity card that allows them access to services if, indeed, that were necessary. Therefore there will need to be a non-travel variant of the ID card that can be issued to such people in those circumstances.

It may well be that technological advances mean that the issue of a non-travel variant of the ID card   will not require an exchange of cards. The card may be disabled for international travel. However, that would depend on the ability of those countries in the European Union for which an ID will be used for travel to read a card that has been disabled in that way. It is likely that this situation will occur only when this country has e-borders; there will be embarkation controls and people will not be able to leave our country without the authorities knowing that their ID card used as a travel document has been disabled. The hon. Gentleman's comments are very sensible. Assuming that the technology allows for it, a non-travel variant of the ID card that is not acceptable for travel may not involve the exchange of cards.

This information may be of some interest to Committee members. We have been trialling an asylum seekers registration card that can be disabled in that way. The card can be disabled for payment of support if an asylum seeker fails to meet the conditions of reporting that are required for him or her. That suggests that such technology is available, but we will only know in the fullness of time whether it would be available on the scale that would be necessary for ID cards.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 40 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 41 to 44 ordered to stand part of the Bill.