Clause 19 - Use for purposes of public authorities etc.
Identity Cards Bill
10:30 am
Alistair Carmichael (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat)
Hon. Members will recall that, prior to the conclusion of our proceedings on Thursday, we dealt with amendments Nos. 178, 179 and 180. The matter before the Committee today under amendment No. 181 is broadly similar the issues raised by those amendments. It relates specifically to the powers given to the Inland Revenue and Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise or whatever the new formulation of that merged body is.
The point that I want principally to draw to the Committee’s attention is the breadth of those powers. I accept that the clause excludes the auditing data under schedule 1, but it gives powers in respect of substantial data and, as drafted, it gives Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs broader scope for accessing data than is strictly necessary. The form of words in the amendment are those used by the Government for clause 1. It is a probing amendment, and I shall be interested to hear the Minister’s response.