By Nick Heath, 7 July 2009 14:37
NEWS
The government has defended itself against fresh calls to drop its troubled ID cards scheme, this time from within the Labour party.
In an extensive parliamentary debate yesterday, Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay added his voice to those calling for the £5bn scheme to be scrapped.
MacKinlay urged Home Secretary Alan Johnson to bite the bullet, saying: "He is having to cope with the denouement of a failed idea.
"Why don't we go to the dispatch box and say 'we have rethought this, it was a silly idea and we are going to start again examining how we can promote security and individual identity'?"
The debate follows the Home Secretary's decision last week to make ID cards entirely voluntary and scrap trials that would have compelled airside workers and pilots at London City and Manchester airports to carry the cards - a move widely seen as the government stepping back from the project.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling poured scorn on the idea that a voluntary card would be any use in combating crime and terrorism.
"Somehow, I do not see the al-Qaeda sleeper cells all rushing down to Boots with their 30 quid to make sure that they have their own ID cards. What about the organised criminals? Will the traffickers and drug smugglers all rush to sign up? Somehow, I doubt it," he said.
The Home Secretary faced similar calls to scrap the scheme from Conservative MP Stewart Jackson, this time to save costs.
"Will the Home Secretary pledge to scrap the huge cost of ID cards to get the public debt into a more stable condition?" he asked.
Johnson refuted the idea that scrapping ID cards would save money, saying the public would meet the cost when applying for the cards.
"The idea that you could half the national debt by abolishing ID cards is simply ludicrous.
"The amount of money that you have to spend in a scheme where the recipients of ID cards will pay for them is very small. Scrapping now will gain very little and cost a lot," he said.
Despite ongoing criticism of the scheme, the Conservatives lost a vote on the motion "That this House believes the government's identity cards scheme should be cancelled immediately", with 293 MP's voting against and 203 for.
Johnson reiterated to Parliament yesterday that the government is pushing ahead the rollout of ID cards and that a key contract to produce the cards for the medium term will now be in place this year, ahead of original plans to sign it in 2010.
"We have not scrapped ID cards, we are accelerating their introduction," he told Parliament.
He pointed to the fact that the plans to offer ID cards to residents in Manchester on a voluntary basis had been extended, with the cards being made available across the whole of the north west in 2010.
A government motion stating that ID cards would reduce fraud and make it easier for young people to prove their age was passed, with 283 MPs voting for and 203 voting against.
On Wednesday MPs will vote on secondary legislation under the Identity Cards Act 2006 that will introduce the fee of £30 for enrolling details on the National Identity Register and a further £30 for submitting an application for the issue of an ID card, as well as fines of up to £1,000 for failing to inform government when changing of details on ID cards.
Comments
There are 11 comments. Join the discussion
1. Vespasian
Point of order, so to speak. The statutory instruments were in the House yesterday not this Wednesday coming. It was on the order paper. Identity Cards Act 2006 (Provision of Information without Consent) Regulations 2009; Identity Cards Act 2006 (Information and Code of Practice on Penalties) Order 2009; and Identity Cards Act 2006 (Fees) Regulations 2009.
[Editors note - the story is correct: the decision on the statutory instruments was defered until Wednesday.]
2. Roger
I believe that these biometric ID cards will backfire because for these cards to work everyone should have them and that every point of transaction should have equipment to read these cards.
Nationally it is impossible to satisfy both these conditions and hence it is obvious that these cards will fail.
In reality criminals will be tempted to use fakes of these cards as IDs where there is no reading equipment and hence rather than deter these cards will boost more identity fraud thus make bad problems worse.
3. karen challinor
£30 to voluntarily enrol in the NIR
another £30 to request to be issued with a card which is not available unless you enrol in the NIR
and once you do enrol there's a £1000 fine every time you forget to keep the details up to date
then in ten years you need to fork out another £30 for a new card or whatever it's gone up to by then
plus anyone who wants to be able to read the details on the card needs a reader and a secure connection to the NIR in order to verify the details with no price tag on that yet
no wonder the government reckon it will be self financing
off the top of my head I can't think of anyone who is willing to throw £60 down the drain in the middle of a recession for a card to prove their ID to anyone who has a reader and the means to check the details .. which would be the IPS then as they are the only people with readers
I have to say this "more expensive to scrap than it will to continue" line smacks a little of desperation or have the government made commitments that they just aren't telling anyone about that will make it very expensive to back out of the scheme ?
4. anonymous
Why do they think this will work - We have to pay to submit our details to a national database - We have to pay to get the card and we get fined if we don't tell them we have updated the details - BUT I don't have to have one as it is voluntary.....I know what I will be doing, I have just had to fork out for 3 passports for my family that is enough.... Wake up Government when times are tough you need to stop spending on frivilous ideas. Itsjust another opportuiinuty to try and get some money out of the public. I would bet my application fee that take up in Manchester will be so low that the Governement then decide to scrap the scheme.
5. Chris Parsons
"saying the public would meet the cost when applying for the cards."
Oh, well that's all right then. Always happy to stump up and help out this bunch.
6. Chris Tolmie
Can someone please let me know what legal means we citizens have to thwart these ID Card plans? The next step will be to make them compulsory and I need to fight back . . . .
7. Non-believer
Still not addressing the real issue which is the collection, storage and sharing of data.
Not being required to carry round a card with all or some of my own data is not the same as the gvt requiring me to provide it in the first place so they can give/sell it to whomsoever they please
8. Radical Meldrew
Who on earth would want one of these cards? The £1000 fine for forgetting to update information for a voluntarily entered scheme is a massive deterrent.
Sheer madness from politicians who have lost all touch with reality.
9. Dave Brown
IF IT WASN'T FOR THE FACT THAT THIS BUNCH OF CLOWNS ARE SPENDING (SORRY - WASTING) OUR MONEY THEN IT WOULD BE FUNNY.
10. GALLEYSLAVE
When are these BERKS going to realize that they have been told by we the people that pay them,
TO SHOVE IT!
11. Soomsayer
Couldn't they use all the claimed MPs expenses that are being paid back to fund this? They are being paid back, aren't they?