Clause 15 - Power to make public services conditional on identity checks
Identity Cards Bill
2:15 pm
Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East, Conservative)
The clause seems to be intended to allay fears about how the card is to be used immediately before it becomes compulsory as the Government wish.
Clause 15(1)(c) questions the integrity of the card itself, because if it is robust enough to prove who a person is, why is there a requirement to produce other identification cards along with that card? In the case of stolen cards, if one card is stolen a whole array of identification cards is likely to be removed at the same time.
How will the card be ratified? Mention has been made of the flash-and-go concept of showing one’s card, which allows one to obtain a service. What services are included? Of the cards in our pockets today, bankcards are the most common. It is not simply a question of showing that card to prove ownership; a process has to take place involving confirmation of details that are separate from the card. That raises the question: how will cards be read? Will the Minister elaborate on that process?
Are we simply to accept that an individual’s production of an ID card, perhaps with a driving licence, is sufficient to enable them to receive the service, or will there be a process of ratification? If so, will there be a reader—a machine that can confirm those details?