§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the public services for which the Draft Identity Cards Bill requires the production of an ID card as a condition of receiving the service. [169447]
§ Mr. BrowneThere is no automatic requirement to produce an ID card for particular services in the draft Bill published by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 26 April. Parliament or the relevant devolved administration would have to approve regulations for each service on a case by case basis. In addition Clause 15(2) prohibits the ID card or a check of the National Identity Register being the mandatory way to access social security benefits or free public services prior to there being a compulsory requirement to register for an ID card.
Clause 15(5) of the draft Identity Cards Bill defines provision of a public service as:
(a) the provision of any service to an individual by a public authority;(b) the exercise or performance in relation to an individual of any power or duty of a Minister of the Crown, the Treasury or a Northern Ireland department;(c) the doing by any other person of anything in relation to an individual which that person is authorised or required to do for purposes connected with the carrying out of any function conferred on him by or under an enactment; or(d) treating an individual as having complied with a requirement imposed on him by or under any enactment.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what purpose the Draft Identity Cards Bill enables an individual's national insurance number to be recorded in the National Identity Register. [169449]
§ Mr. BrowneSchedule 1 of the draft Identity Cards Bill published by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 26 April (CM 6178) sets out the information which may be recorded in the National Identity Register. Final decisions on what will be recorded in the Register will depend on further feasibility studies and what legislation Parliament finally agrees.
Recording the National Insurance number on the Register would link the more secure identity established when the ID card is issued with the National Insurance number which is a less securely issued number. This could help prevent abuse by people using other people's National Insurance numbers and be more convenient for employers using an ID card to confirm eligibility to work.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers he plans to make available to the police in the event that an individual refuses to verify his or her identity following introduction of identity cards. [169702]
§ Mr. BrowneThe draft Identity Cards Bill that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary published on 26 April makes clear that it will not be a requirement for individuals to carry an identity card or to produce a card to a police officer on demand.
1300WAs set out in "Legislation on Identity Cards: a consultation (CM 6178)" there will be no new power for the police to stop someone and demand to see their card. Existing police powers to require drivers to produce their driving licence (which could be designated as an ID card) on demand or within seven days at a police station will remain. Added to this, if someone has been arrested for a recordable offence, existing powers will allow the police to take reasonable steps to identify them. This currently includes powers to check biometric information. There are also classes of criminal offences which are non-arrestable and are enforced by sending a summons. In these situations, the police have to be certain of a person's name and address. If a person refuses to identify themselves in these circumstances or the police are not satisfied with the information given, they have a power of arrest after which biometric checks can be made. If it were not possible to identify an arrested person otherwise, for example checking police records, a check could then be made on the person's biometric against the National Identity Register.