The A to Z of ID cards

A is for Act

The Identity Card Act received Royal Assent from the Queen on 30 March 2006. The bill had a rocky passage through the House of Commons and faced fierce opposition in the House of Lords.

In addition to the 2006 Act, secondary legislation was proposed in 2008 around procedures for issuing ID cards, including who will be eligible to receive one and how the data on the National Identity Register - the database housing ID information - will be maintained. This legislation will be put before Parliament in spring 2009.

This secondary legislation needs to be passed before the government can go ahead with plans to demand that airside workers and pilots begin using the cards from Autumn 2009.

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS), is in charge of managing the ID cards scheme.