Clause 4 - Designation of documents for purposes of registration etc.
Identity Cards Bill
11:30 am
David Drew (Stroud, Labour)
I seek further clarification from the Minister on the relationship between clauses 3 and 4, and therefore on schedule 1. As I said in the previous debate, schedule 1 is far too widely drawn. What documents that could form a constituent part of the register are we expecting the ordinary person to bring forward?
Without trying to rerun the previous debate, I should say that there is one issue about what is on the register and a second about how people are asked to add to what is on the register. Later, we shall no doubt consider how people might take things off the register. However, I wish to get much greater clarification on the relationship of those different parts of the legislation, and, dare I say it, to chide the Minister.
We are making things terribly and unnecessarily complicated. As I said, I have a problem not with the principle of ID cards, but with the practice. If I read clause 4 correctly, it puts the onus on the individual to provide more and more information that could then go on the register. Will the Minister at least clarify why that is necessary? Why can we not simplify the process so that people can bring forward documents, as they do in banks? Banks, however, are unduly complicated in asking for a number of pieces of information. If we had ID cards, banks might benefit from a simplification of that process.
To me, clause 4 is ladling it on thick and needs to be streamlined. If we had had a vote on schedule 1, we might have been able to do some of that streamlining. Clause 4 is overcomplicated and needs clarification.