By Steve Ranger, 9 January 2006 15:15
NEWS
Council officials could become "local police" for the controversial new ID cards database under government proposals, according to claims from the Conservative Party.
Tories claim a new electoral database under discussion will be connected to the ID cards database and council officials will be required to 'investigate' any discrepancies.
The Tories said: "This could mean that councils end up acting as the local police for the ID card agency, and track down those who fail to inform the state of their new address or new family circumstances."
Under the government plans, local residents face fines of up to £2,500 for not registering or keeping their details up to date with the new national ID card agency, according to the Tories.
Shadow e-government minister Oliver Heald said there is growing concern amongst the public about Labour's use of invasive databases without transparency or clear backing from the public.
Heald said in a statement: "I believe local residents will be alarmed at the further prospect of town hall bureaucrats being told to investigate people's homes for ID cards, backed up with the threat of thousand pound fines."
A spokesman for the Department of Constitutional Affairs told silicon.com the National Identity Register could be used to help ensure that local electoral registers are more comprehensive and are compiled more efficiently.
He said: "Electoral Registration Officers could check whether their entries matched those on the National Identity Register and whether the National Identity Register contained some records which were absent from theirs."
But he said that in order to do this, the Identity Cards Bill, which is currently before parliament, requires the government to obtain specific approval from parliament.
Comments
There are 14 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
With Central Government palming more resonsibility across to the Local Authorities, without any additional fuding to match the responsibilty It comes as no surprise that an already discredited and expensive scheme should be placed at the door of Local Authorities to enforce.
After all, far better for Local government to be seen as the bad guy rather than central government. god forbid anything should threaten their tenure of power.
2. anonymous
What's any law abiding/tax paying person to worrying about?
We have passports, pay tax, credit cards etc.
A good ID card system may save us all money in the long run, especially from those who abuse the system.
3. Andrew Flack
New definition of 'voluntary'. Pay for a card or Pay a fine. Another case of offloading of cost and blame for any failure by a government that likes to bury bad news in the fine print and collect revenue through 'non-taxes'.
4. WCM
Correct me if I'm wrong but can you not be fined for failing to inform the Driving Licence Agency of a change of address?
5. Mike
Liberties? This government, more than any previous ones, is eroding citizens liberties. In fact it is becoming more and more authoritarian. What will be next? £1000 fines for not carrying a copy of Tony Blair's (soon to be published?) little red book?
Actually, the law should be changed the other way: there should be no penalty for not completing the form for the electoral register. I don't agree with the people who say "a plague on all your political parties", but they should have the right not to register to vote!
6. Jerrold Baldwin
The Government knows that ID cards are unpopular, so as usual, they are thinking of passing the buck. They hope that local government will be blamed for their folly.
7. Steve Miller
The earlier comment about having nothing to fear misses the point. This won't be a good ID system, it will be an underfunded system operated by untrained staff with the costs and unpopularity being born by local authorities.....
When will the public wake up to the fact the Councils don't want the extra powers and responsibilites in most cases that Labour are using this tactic to push through the their 'liberal or else' agenda without getting the flak that the Torys got over the Poll tax?
8. anonymous
And if you are not worried, why was your comment posted without your name. We all value our privacy including me.
9. anonymous
In addition, it would be operated by hundreds or thousands of poorly paid and much put upon clerical staff. So what price security then? Are all staff in the local authorities going to be subjected to background checks? Because by the flick of a key, these people can wipe out your identity or sell it to the highest bidder. Identity theft, can't happen can it from Government depatments? ( Would Work and Pensions like to make a comment here?). With this one being the key to all others, the implications are truly dreadful.
10. anonymous
Your previous correspondent is right.
In fact the more I read about the ID card, the scarier it becomes. It would seem that it will have more security holes than the proverbal sieve & in many cases, one's private details will be accessed by 'temporary' employees on whom security checks will have not been made. Liberty? We are now moving toward a police state at breakneck speed. With an ever increasing bureaucracy of spies / new additions to the public payroll, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.
In an attempt to perpetuate the 'rule' of the current bunch of control freaks at Westminster!
11. anonymous
Both carrying an ID card and registering to vote are options at present.
I have seriously considered not having a driving licence because of the aggravation caused by DVLA and my car insurance doesn't require me to hold one, merely to "have held and not be disqualified for holding" one.
Frankly the less I have to do with HMG the happier I am. I wouldn't trust 'em an inch. They are not about protection of the citizen, they are about control of the citizen. We need a new Simon de Montfort and Tony Blair needs to read Magna Carta.
12. Good idea, badly implemented
It would NOT be run by poorly paid and put-upon UK residents, because our idiotic gov't would outsource it to the cheapest bidding call centre - when's the next flight to Bangladesh then?
13. Chris Goodman
I am presuming that "my details" that I will be required to keep "up to date" will be more than just my name, date of birth and picture.
Anything else, such as address, NI number, etc and marrying it up with the Electoral Register will mean that my whereabouts will be available to Big Brother and his civil service minions at the push of a button.
And what will be next? Banks and card companies will next be required to link our personal data to the ID database "for security reasons".
I think they had better start building some new prisons, could be Guy Fawkes might just be revived to do a better job.
14. Citizen 43671
Well there goes democracy!
What next, a fine for failing to vote the government in again?!!