Clause 11 - Power to require information for validating Register
Identity Cards Bill
9:15 am
Alistair Carmichael (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat)
Good morning, Mr. Hood. Welcome back to the Chair of our proceedings.
I wish to speak to amendments No. 149, 150 and 159, which stand in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron). Although we drafted our amendments differently from those of the Conservatives, they are born of the same concern—namely, that the drafting of part of the clause is unnecessarily and undesirably wide.
We have made the modest proposal that the Secretary of State should act “reasonably”. I would not have thought that too onerous a burden on him. We wish to ensure that anything done under subsection (3), which will make the requirement mandatory and subject to a specified timetable, is done in a reasonable way in all circumstances.
The purpose of the clause seems to be to make the necessary provisions—where there is no such existing power—to permit data to be shared with the Secretary of State and designated documents authorities for the purposes of verifying information that is to be placed, or is currently placed, on the national identity register. According to the explanatory notes, that is
“specifically about ensuring the accuracy of the Register and it does not confer the power to share data for wider purposes”.
All our amendments would do—I think the same is broadly true of the Conservative amendments—is hold the Government to their own intent, as expressed in the explanatory notes.