Loans and bank accounts to require card…
By Nick Heath
Published: 24 January 2008 17:27 GMT
Students have launched a stinging attack on UK government proposals to make young people "guinea pigs" for ID cards.
Silicon.com's A to Z of ID Cards
Click on the links below to find out everything you ever needed to know about the government's ID card plans...
A is for Act
B is for Biometrics
C is for Compulsory
D is for Data privacy worries
E is for EDS
F is for Forgery
G is for Government IT
H is for Home Office
I is for Identity and Passport Service
J is for Jury
K is for Hong Kong
L is for London School of Economics
M is for Money
N is for National Identity Register
O is for Other cards
P is for Passports
Q is for Quarter
R is for Refuseniks
S is for Self-destruct
T is for Terrorist
U is for Utility bill
V is for Verification
W is for When
X is for Xenophobia
Y is for Young people
Z is for London Zoo
Leaked Home Office documents reveal teenagers may need an ID card to open a bank account or take out a student loan from 2010 - making them among the first people to have the controversial biometric cards in the UK.
The National Union of Students (NUS) described the revelation in the leaked National Identity Scheme Delivery Strategy document as "morally reprehensible" and said it would bog students down in red tape.
NUS VP for Welfare, Ama Uzowuru, said: "It is extremely disappointing that the government is planning to use students as guinea pigs for this scheme by forcing them to take on ID cards in order to apply for a loan.
"Besides being morally reprehensible, this plan is also completely impractical. The student loan system is complicated enough as it is, without introducing yet another layer of bureaucracy to the process. Many students change address at least once a year and would be obliged to report such changes in their personal circumstances or face a £1,000 fine."
She added: "We would also be concerned for the safety of students' personal information if they were forced to enter the ID card system."
The first UK citizens will get the cards in 2009 when they are given to workers in trusted positions such as airport staff or people working in other sensitive locations, while foreign nationals coming to the UK will be given cards from the end of this year.
The widespread rollout to UK citizens, known as 'Borders phase II', is now slated to begin in 2012 - two years later than indicated in an earlier government action plan.
The document says: "Implementation of identity cards will be benefits led, with the first cards issued to individuals where there is the strongest national or personal benefit. We should issue ID cards to young people to assist them as they open their first bank account, take out a student loan, etc."
Critics of the scheme said the perceived two-year slip in the widespread rollout of the cards is another sign of wavering support among Gordon Brown's government for ID cards.
Shadow immigration minister, Damian Green, said: "The government are clearly trying to introduce the cards by stealth. This is straightforward blackmail and a desperate attempt to bolster a failing policy."
A spokesman for the Identity and Passport Service said this was a draft document, adding: "When developing policy, it is obviously right and logical that our first priority should be to consider where ID cards can be of greatest benefit to the UK and to the individual."
My children have already opened accounts and set u...
Chris Tolmie
"given"??? The reference in the article to people ...
misceng
well if hmg wanted to strengthen opposition to the...
Karen Challinor
This is a diasaster and typical of a politically i...
Nick Cole
What is right and logical is that Government in th...
Chris Goodman
You may also be eligible for assistance with your housing costs, with an equity loan of up to 50,000, under the Key Worker FE may be eligible for a ...
Knowledge of Credit Card economics. You role will consist of working with high levels of data within the credit card industry, utilising you SAS ...
Kingdom, and if successfully employed, you be subject to background checks which involve: Electoral Roll, Identity Checks, Employment History, ...
CIO50 2008
The silicon.com CIO50 2008 profiles the most influential and innovative tech chiefs in the UK across all industries and organisation size, from the biggest FTSE100 companies to high growth dot-com start ups and the public sector. The list was voted on by the UK CIO community and a panel of experts. Find out more in our latest special report.
Stories from the web...
Copyright ©1995-2008 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Top of page
Julian Goldsmith
Leading a horse to water
Profile: Government CIO John Suffolk
Steve Ranger
Editor's Blog: Time to take the politicians out of technology?
We've given them their chance...
Paul Bentham
Outsourcing - life after the contract
Just when you thought it was all nailed down...
Andy McCue
ID cards are dead
This u-turn is the beginning of the end
silicon.com
Dear silicon.com... Laptop losses, mobile ads, gas-guzzler charge, Vista backtrack…
Reader Comments of the Week
Steve Ranger
Editor's Blog: ID cards - cock-up and conspiracy...
The real last enemy is…incompetence