By Andy McCue, 31 March 2006 13:15
NEWS
The government has wasted no time in starting work on the controversial ID card scheme after the bill became law this week, and has set up a new agency that will be tasked with introducing ID cards.
The ID cards bill is now on the statute book after receiving Royal Assent from the Queen yesterday. The new Identity and Passport Service (IPS), which will be in charge of managing the ID cards scheme, will become operational from 1 April 2006.
The bill finally got approval following a deal between MPs and peers in the House of Lords earlier this week which allows people to opt out of receiving an ID card when renewing their passport until 2010.
But the compromise means that those who choose to opt out will still have to pay for the ID card - and have their fingerprints, iris scans and personal details taken and stored on the national identity register (NIR) when they get a new passport.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke has already announced that the Labour government will make the scheme compulsory if it wins the next general election and a new agency to issue passports and ID cards has already been set up.
The position of CEO of the new IPS agency, which will incorporate the existing UK Passport Service, has yet to be advertised but the Home Office said it expects the role to be filled later in the year.
The IPS will be responsible for issuing ID cards and providing the means of verifying the identity of individuals for accredited organisations, setting up the NIR and promoting the use of ID cards in the public and private sectors.
Clarke said in a statement: "Building on the experience and proven excellence of the Passport Service, the IPS will ensure the UK is at the forefront of the worldwide drive to increase document security, safeguard borders and protect identities for use by those who are entitled to them."
But critics of the ID card scheme have vowed to fight on. Phil Booth, national co-ordinator for the No2ID campaign group, said the problem has always been the national identity database rather than the card.
He said: "Millions are already vehemently opposed. The Home Office will have to round them up and force them to be fingerprinted which will bring home to the public the true nature of the scheme. This is a self-destructive policy to dwarf the Poll Tax."
Plus: Read our leader on the ongoing silicon.com ID Cards on Trial campaign.
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. Allan Smith
So the obvious question. What is the latest that I should leave it to renew my current passport which expires in 2013 to prolong the inevatable ending up on the database???
Sugestions anyone?
Somehow, whilst the Conservatives may can the ID card I bet the database survives!
2. lloyd
i d card are must . to identefy legal and illegal people
3. anonymous
Is the NIR live from 1 April 06?
Will passport applicants be required to provide fingerprints etc from 1 April 06?
4. martyn
Lloyd is corect, obviously all illegal people will register for a card with "illegal" across the top and vice-versa.
As for the "the proven excellence of the Passport Office" - what planet is Clarke on?
5. Chris
The best action is to apply for a Passport and return the ID card as unnecessary.
I already have a drivers licence, a Passport and a works access card. These are all valid forms of ID, I do not need another one to go shopping in my own country.
6. Richard Davies
How do you fingerprint and serve ID Cards to those people that the government have admitted they aren't officially aware of i.e. illegal imigrants etc.
7. Guy Reynolds
If it is not compulsory to have one, nor compulsory to carry one then ID cards have no real use, in identifying who is 'illegal' and who isn't.
The system being forced will I have no doubt, over run, be over budget and cause more problems than it solves. After all every other government IT project has done exectly that.
I have also have absoultly no doubt the the Governement will (attempt to) link together all its databases using the ID card system as a single reference point and thus if people want any benefits in any shape or form they will be forced into having an ID card.
I for one will refuse to pay to have one, also as the sole bread winner in my family I will refuse to make available funds for my family to pay for one. This is a Tax on our very existance
8. Ken Hall
So we are like sheep, being rounded up and tagged and branded, but we are rounding ourselves up and we are having to pay for the privilidge too!
To answer the earlier quations, renew your passport in 2007 to avoid having your details entered into the NIR. It will not be compulsary to give your details until you renew your passports post 2007, then you will have to attend the issuing office to be tagged and tracked. (having your biometric and other additional details entered into the database) you will need to have substantially more supportive documentation than you need for the passport currently AND you will be fined £1000.00 if you do not comply!
The only way currently to avoid this, it would seem, is to replace your Passport in 2007 and trust the tories to repeal the bill.
Can you say stuck between a rock and a hard place?
The Tories and Labour equally disgust me.
Ho Hum
9. Tony Evans
I strongly recommend all those with dual nationality to keep the other passport going. Thise of us not able to muster dual nationality should start doing some work on the family tree!
I would like to see the Conservative Party say what it would do with the funds that the current government will have to find and channel to the ID card system. Improving the police force and/or security services seems a much more ikely route to combat terrorism to me.