Downing Street Says

Put that the timetable for ID cards had slipped, the PMS replied that the position on ID cards was set out in the strategic plan for the National Identity Scheme, which was published in December 2006. That made clear that the first ID cards for British citizens would be issued in 2009 and that rollout would be on an incremental basis. Put that people were given an indicative timetable beginning in 2010, the PMS reiterated that the position was as set out in the document from December 2006. The Government had always said that the first ID cards would be rolled out from 2009, but the exact subsequent rollout would be on an incremental and phased basis.

Put that the document from 2006 said specifically that in 2010 there would be a significant volume of rollout and was the PMS saying that that remained the case, the PMS replied that the position remained as set out in December 2006. The Government would not comment on leaked documents, but Minister’s had taken no decisions otherwise. Asked repeatedly for the timing and volume of rollout next year, the PMS referred people back to what was said in the document of December 2006.

Asked to remind people of the compulsory and voluntary elements, the PMS reiterated that the Government was where it had always been, which was that it would be voluntary. It would require a vote by Parliament in order to make the scheme compulsory for British citizens. In response to the question of whether the Government would be asking Parliament for that, the PMS said that that was a matter for the future.

Put that if you had to change your passport in 2009, you would be required as a British citizen to give the necessary details over to an ID database, the PMS reiterated the position set out in December 2006. Asked if the Government was worried that because it was on a voluntary basis people would not take them up, the PMS said the nature of voluntary schemes was that they were a matter for individuals. Asked if he accepted the likelihood of people taking them up had been reduced by the recent data losses, the PMS replied that as the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary had said on many occasions, that by including biometric data ID cards could help deal with the issue of potential identity theft so he did not accept the premise of the question.

Asked whether the recent data losses had given any pause for thought about a national register for ID cards, the PMS said that when the Prime Minister had been asked this question, he had always emphasised that one of the benefits of ID cards is that by including biometric data, they would actually help individuals deal with potential issues relating to data theft. Put that that would not reassure people that the actual data might go missing, even though it would be more difficult to do anything with it, the PMS said that the issues around protection of peoples identity and identity theft were issues that related to the private sector as well as the public sector. This was why the Prime Minister had set up a review to look at how identity is managed in both sectors.

Asked how important the outcome of the Crosby Review would be in terms of the ID card rollout, the PMS said that he was sure that would be one of the factors taken into account by the Government.

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» Wednesday, January 23, 2008

ID Cards

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