Identity Documents Bill

Part of the debate – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:43 am on 29 June 2010.

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Eric Metcalfe: Not much. We agree with that answer. We did not address it in our written evidence, but we certainly support the idea of holding as limited an amount of information as is necessary for the system to be effective. To some extent, the Government are bound by the existing EU regulations that require third-party residencies from non-EU nationals. For example, the most recent regulation from 2008 requires only two fingerprints to be taken from a non-EU national. We are currently taking 10. That is an example of taking more than is strictly necessary. We are to an extent required to have a system of residents’ permits in ID-card format, but that does not mean that they have to be treated as an ID card.