Clause 2 - Individuals entered in Register
Identity Cards Bill
10:15 am
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
Let me start with the hon. Gentleman's penultimate point. We entirely accept that if we can move to a common specification across Europe on ID cards, we can then have reciprocity and reach the stage where we do not have to register all EU nationals living in the country for more than three months. We are not, however, near that stage. We have vowed to make progress on the issue during our EU presidency, but it is very early days. In the longer term, we seek to reach a stage at which the card could be used as the document for travel within the EU. Such things must spring at least from elements of standardisation, before we can move to reciprocity, but the points that he made are entirely fair.
Under current EU law, as I understand it, European economic area nationals and their families cannot be forced to register before the end of that three-month period. That is simply the way it is under the current directive. Even if it were not, I would prefer a prescribed period to be included in the Bill rather than defined in regulations. That implies support for the hon. Gentleman's last point. Indeed, I believe that he is right in that regard. The Bill does not prescribe a period of three months, but we are saying that we will define three months as the prescribed period.
The hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Wallace) might be right about tourism, but he is wrong about all the ins and outs of things that happen at our ports. In 2003, a total of some 91 million people arrived at UK ports, of whom 64 million were British, 15 million were EEA nationals, and 12 million were foreign nationals subject to immigration controls. Let us take those figures in reverse. By the time we implement the e-borders system—[Interruption.] I did not name it; the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland should not smile. By the time we implement the e-borders system in 2008, the biometric details of every one of those 12 million foreign nationals subject to immigration—in other words, visa nationals—will be captured before they leave their port of departure, as in America, and we will have that information about them.
On the modernised, high-tech version of embarkation controls, although I want to avoid going down the road of yah-boo politics, I should say that embarkation controls were lifted in part by the Conservative Government and completed by this Government, so the gap will be filled. It will take time. It cannot happen instantly, but it is not helpful—
It being twenty-five minutes past Ten o'clock, The Chairman adjourned the Committee without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
Adjourned till this day at One o'clock.