Archived decisions

    Hampshire County Council Amended Decision Sheet

      D

    Cabinet

    Appendix 1

    20 July 2004

    Consultation on the Draft Identity Cards Bill

    Report of the Chief Executive

    Contact: Kevin Gardner, ext 7381

    (With the concurrence of the Chairman Under Section 100 (B) (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972, this matter was included on the agenda to ensure that the County Council's response for the consultation on the draft Identity Cards Bill could be submitted by the required deadline date.)

    1. Summary of Decisions Taken

      1.1. That the comments in Paragraph 9 of the attached report be endorsed for submission to the Government as the County Council's response to the consultation on the draft Identity Cards Bill.

      1.2. That, in addition the Cabinet urges strongly that there should be a single standard form of identity card and that these cards should be provided free of charge.

      1.3. That the Cabinet emphasises the importance of any subsequent amendment to the identity cards scheme following its initial introduction, being the subject of full and proper debate in Parliament.

    2. Reasons

      2.1. The proposals to introduce an identity cards scheme are relevant to the Council's Corporate Aim 4 (Building Strong and Safe Communities), by providing greater certainty that people are who they say they are, helping combat identity fraud, and ensuring that free public services are accessed only by those who are entitled. It is appropriate therefore that the Council should comment in the consultation on the draft Bill.

    3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

      3.1. The implications of the draft proposals have been considered by a group of senior officers representing a range of Council services. The conclusion reached was that there are sufficient issues of relevance to the Council to justify responding to the Government's consultation.

    4. Conflicts of Interest declared by the decision maker or other Executive Member consulted

    None.

    5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee.

    Not applicable

    6. Reasons for matter being dealt with if urgent

    Not applicable.

    Approved by


    Councillor T. K. Thornber Date:

    Hampshire County Council

    Cabinet

    20 July 2004

    Consultation on the Draft Identity Cards Bill

    Report of the Chief Executive

    1.1

    1.2 Item 4

    Contact: Kevin Gardner, ext 7381

      (With the concurrence of the Chairman Under Section 100 (B) (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972, this matter was included on the agenda to ensure that the County Council's response for the consultation on the draft Identity Cards Bill could be submitted by the required deadline date.)

    1. Summary

      1.1. The Government has recently published a consultation document, "Legislation on Identity Cards - A Consultation", setting out its plans for legislation on compulsory national identity cards including a draft Identity Cards Bill to establish the legislative framework for the incremental introduction of identity cards.

      1.2. This report considers the points highlighted in the consultation document, outlines how the proposals could impact on the County Council's operations, and recommends a response from the County Council.

      1.3. The proposals to introduce an identity cards scheme are relevant to the Council's Corporate Aim 4 (Building Strong and Safe Communities), by providing greater certainty that people are who they say they are, helping combat identity fraud, and ensuring that free public services are accessed only by those who are entitled.

    2. Background

      2.1. The Government announced on 11th November 2003 its decision to introduce an identity cards scheme on an incremental basis. In the Queens speech on 26th November 2003 the Government subsequently announced that a draft Identity Cards Bill would be published during 2004.

      2.2. Although the Government has already made a decision on the principle of introducing identity cards, it has made it clear that it wishes to consult on the details and contents of the draft legislation. The consultation period closes on 20th July 2004. Subject to the Cabinet's deliberations, a response will be sent by email immediately following the meeting on that date.

      2.3. The Government envisages identity cards will provide every person over the age of 16 legally resident in the UK, including foreign nationals, with an easy and secure way of demonstrating their right to be in the country and of asserting their place in the community. The proposed identity card will be linked to the person to whom it is issued by a unique biometric identifier, thus providing a proof of identity which cannot be fraudulently used by somebody else. However, given the size and complexity of introducing identity cards the Government has decided it would be best to proceed by incremental steps with the introduction of the first identity cards, on current plans, starting in 2007-08.

    3. The Draft Identity Cards Bill

      3.1. The draft Identity Cards Bill will provide the legislative framework to enable a national identity cards scheme to be established. It does so by establishing the National Identity Register and defining a card that is either designated as an identity card or is issued by the Secretary of State and links to an individual's entry on the Register.

      3.2. The Bill will:

      3.2.1. establish a database - the National Identity Register, which will hold identity details of those people registered and issued with a card;

      3.2.2. specify information that may be recorded in the Register (including the biometric data) and the safeguards to ensure this is only available to those with lawful authority;

      3.2.3. provide data-sharing powers to conduct thorough background checks on applicants for identity cards so as to make sure that the details they have provided are correct;

      3.2.4. establish powers to issue identity cards. This includes designating existing documents (which could include passport cards, residence permits for foreign nationals, and photocard driving licences) as part of the identity cards scheme. It also includes the power to issue `plain' biometric identity cards;

      3.2.5. enable Regulations to be made that will specify how an application for an identity card should be made and the information that must be produced to support an application;

      3.2.6. set out the safeguards to protect an individual's data and define the exceptional circumstances in which specified agencies, such as security and intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies could have information disclosed from the Register without an individual's consent;

      3.2.7. provide safeguards over "function creep" in terms of information that may be held on the card or the Register;

      3.2.8. enable public and private sector organisations to verify a person's identity by checking a card against the National Identity Register, with the person's consent, to validate identity and residential status before providing services;

      3.2.9. create new criminal offences around the misuse of identity cards and other identity fraud issues and provide a civil penalty for failure to notify changes affecting the accuracy of an individual's entry on the Register;

      3.2.10. include enabling powers so that in the future Regulations can be made relating to the use of the card scheme; and

      3.2.11. provide a power to set a date when the scheme would become compulsory with a requirement to register and be issued with a card and civil penalty for failure to register.

    4. National Identity Register

      4.1. The draft Identity Cards Bill establishes a National Identity Register. The Register will provide a record of "registrable facts" about the identity of individuals who are resident in the United Kingdom or have applied to be entered on the register. "Registrable facts" include names, date of birth, place of residence, other or previous addresses, nationality and where, relevant, immigration status and conditions of stay in the United Kingdom. Although the Government has no plans for it at this stage, the draft Identity Cards Bill would also allow voluntary information, recorded at the individual's own request, for example, emergency information such as blood group.

      4.2. The National Identity Register will not be open for any general access or inspection. Anyone entered on the register must be aged over 16 or over and must be resident in the United Kingdom for a minimum period, which is intended to be three months. The age limit and the qualifying period of residence could be varied by Regulations. Foreign tourists coming to the UK for less than three months would not need to register, but could use the passport or identity card on which they entered the United Kingdom as proof of their identity.

    5. Disclosure of National Identity Register information

      5.1. The Government envisages that there will be a general power to disclose information about an individual held on the Register to the security and intelligence agencies, and law enforcement agencies such as Customs and Excise, the Inland Revenue and the Immigration Service who will be able to seek disclosure of information from the Register for the prevention or investigation of crime. The Government also intends that the Police and Immigration Service will have a power to check a person's biometric against the Register if it has not been possible to identify them otherwise.

    6. Identity Cards

      6.1. The draft Identity Cards Bill provides that an identity card is one that is issued to an individual by the Secretary of State or is a card which forms part of or is issued with a "designated document" and which, shows, records or stores identity information This could be a passport, a driving licence photo card or a residence permit for foreign nationals.

      6.2. The Government intends that most people will obtain an identity card when they first obtain or renew either their driving licence or their passport, and their new document will double as an identity card. Once a document such as a passport has been designated as an identity card, this will be the only form in which that document will be available.

      6.3. When applying for an identity card, it will be necessary to make a personal application so that a biometric can be recorded. The Government envisages that this is likely to be at a convenient local or regional centre. Applicants will be asked to bring along existing identity documentation, which will be checked for authenticity and validity. A digital photograph will be taken and biometric information such as finger scans and/or iris images will be recorded. It will be within the scope of the identity cards scheme to have special arrangements to make enrolment checks less rigorous on certain applicants e.g. the elderly.

      6.4. The Government has made clear that it is planning to build the base for compulsory identity cards in two stages. The first stage will be linked to the designation of existing documents (such as passport or driving licence photo cards) as identity cards. The second stage would involve a move to compulsion once the initial stage had been rolled out to a significant coverage of the UK population and the Government satisfied with the operation of the identity card.

      6.5. The draft Identity Cards Bill provides for the second stage of identity cards by establishing a power to make it a requirement to register. This power would enable a date to be set at which point it would become an obligation to register. However, the Government intends that this will only be brought into force at a later date once the initial stage of the identity card scheme had been successfully completed and following a debate and vote in both Houses of Parliament.

      6.6. The Government envisages that identity cards will immediately provide a more convenient way for people to show their identity when accessing public or private sector services if they choose to do so and where the service wishes to check their identity. Until it becomes compulsory to register, the identity card would not be the only way of proving identity. However, following a move to the second stage of the scheme, when it would be a requirement to register and obtain an identity card, it would be possible to make Regulations that would make use of the card compulsory to access certain public services. This would further help prevent unauthorised and fraudulent access to those public services.

    7. Costs

      7.1. The Government's intention is that identity cards will be issued free to 16 year olds, and reduced-fee cards would be available to those on low incomes. Everyone else will pay a standard charge. The charge will be either an increase on the fee for a designated document (such as a passport or driving licence) or just a straight fee for the plain identity card. People who have both a passport and a driving licence would only pay the uplift once.

      7.2. Under the ID card scheme, the Government's initial estimates are as follows:

      7.2.1. a 10 year plain ID card - £35;

      7.2.2. a combined passport/ID card - £77;

      7.2.3. a combined driving licence/identity card - £73

    8. Implications for the County Council

      8.1. A group of senior officers representing a range of Council services has met to consider the implications of the draft Bill. Their collective thoughts are set out in this section of the report.

      8.2. As the provider of a number of important public services, seeking production of identity cards by those wishing to access those services, and checking identity details with the National Identity Register, will become normal practice for Council staff in the coming years. These arrangements will provide greater safeguards against identity fraud, for example in relation to the issuing of library cards, blue badges for the disabled, and the granting of access to sensitive personal information held by Social Services or Education. This aspect of the proposals is to be welcomed.

      8.3. As a holder of personal information in its various databases, the Council will be obliged to disclose certain of that information to the agency administering the National Identity Register, for the purposes of verifying the identity of an applicant for registration. It will not be necessary for the express consent of the individual to be obtained by the Council, and consent to such disclosure could not be withheld by the applicant.

      8.4. As a law enforcement agency, the Council may itself seek access to the National Identity Register. Being able to verify the identity of an offender, in cases where this is currently problematic, would assist to ensure that legal proceedings can be brought against the correctly named individual. An example where this would assist is in relation to the Trading Standards service's enforcement of consumer protection legislation against itinerant traders. Similarly, the ability to check identity would assist in the enforcement of legislation relating to the sale of certain products (e.g. tobacco), to children under the age of 16, and the employment of children. For Social Services, it would assist to be able to verify the identity of an individual whose background would suggest they may be a risk to children. The recording of a biometric should mean that the adoption of an alias would not result in background checks being evaded.

      8.5. The Council could also have a role in the administration of the arrangements proposed. The Government's preferred option for the governance of the overall scheme is an executive agency with powers delegated from the Home Secretary. It is felt that separation from other agencies is necessary to maintain public confidence in the integrity of procedures as to the sharing of data. However, decisions have yet to be taken as to the arrangements for enrolling to the Register and the issue of identity cards, and it is in this area that local authorities could have a role. An application will need to be made in person, so that a biometric can be recorded. This will require facilities to be available at local offices that are convenient to the public. It is felt that the Council's Registration Service would be particularly well-positioned to assist in this. However, consideration could also be given as to whether other local Council services e.g. libraries, could assist. Clearly, assessment and provision of the necessary resources, by the Home Office, would be required, but the charging arrangements for the issue of cards would provide a revenue stream.

      8.6. The Government has invited comments on a number of specific points arising out of the proposals. However, the consultation also invites any wider comments on its proposals for identity cards. The comments which it is suggested are made by way of response are set out in the next section of the report.

    9. Response to the Consultation

      9.1. Proposals for a National Identity Register

      In general, it is felt that the successful implementation of the proposals, and the encouragement of take-up at the initial, voluntary, stage, requires the case being made to the public that having an identity card is of benefit to them. To this end, there are a number of matters that should be given further consideration.

      9.1.1. Discussions have revealed that there are other schemes in progress, as a result of other Government initiatives, designed to assist in establishing the identity of the individual. Examples are a national scheme for controlling access to NHS services, and a Connexions card scheme for young people. The possibility of combining National Identity Register details with national insurance and NHS registration numbers, and the impact of the provisions in the Children Bill regarding the maintenance of a central database of information on children, should be explored. Consideration should be given to the scope for co-ordinating or combining such schemes in the interests of reducing confusion, avoiding duplication, and enhancing the perceived benefit to the individual of holding one combined identity card.

      9.1.2. When details on the National Identity Register are updated (e.g. on change of address), it should be possible for the notification given by the individual to be automatically shared with other relevant agencies (with the person's consent), saving them having to give separate notification to those agencies direct.

      9.1.3. Arrangements for recording biometrics should take account of disabilities.

      9.1.4. Access to the National Identity Register, for the purposes of verifying identity of those seeking access to services, as described in paragraph 8.2 above, should be available to local authorities.

      9.2. The Issue of Identity Cards and Governance

      9.2.1. For the reasons indicated in paragraph 8.5 above, consideration should be given to local authorities having a role in receiving applications for, and issuing, identity cards. A full assessment of the resources required from the Home Office for this purpose would need to be undertaken. Appropriate safeguards could be built in to maintain public confidence that data would not be shared with other local authority departments who were not authorised to receive it.

      9.3. Disclosure of Information Without Consent for the Prevention and Investigation of Crime

      9.3.1. Paragraphs 2.33 to 2.39 of the consultation document refer to the disclosure of information to law enforcement agencies for the prevention or investigation of crime. However, the examples given make no reference to local authorities. For the reasons given in paragraph 8.4 of this report, access to the National Identity Register would be of assistance to a local authority where it is charged with the enforcement of legislation. The Bill should enable such access to be granted.

    10. Recommendation

      10.1 That the comments in Paragraph 9 of this report be endorsed for submission to the Government as the County Council's response to the consultation on the draft Identity Cards Bill.

      Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

      The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

      NB: the list excludes:

      1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

      TITLE: LOCATION:

        None