Identity Documents (Hansard, 22 June 2004)

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton

The information requested is not held centrally. However, a trawl of departments has produced the following information. Documents are also issued for internal departmental use only. However there may be circumstances where outside organisations have accepted these as proof of identity. Individual departments should be able to provide more information if required.

The United Kingdom Passport Service, an executive agency of the Home Office, issues passports to British nationals in the UK. British passports are issued at the discretion of the Secretary of State by exercise of Royal prerogative, in line with the British Nationality Acts. A passport is issued only after an applicant's nationality status and identity has been confirmed, and is accepted throughout the world as proof of these.

In the UK, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issues diplomatic identity cards, which prove that the holder is a serving foreign diplomat in the UK. Overseas, the FCO issues the following documents: passport; birth certificate; death certificate; certificate of British nationality—issued to a host government when a British citizen in that country has no acceptable ID; declaration of identity (GV3)—issued to a foreign national travelling to the UK who cannot hold a recognised passport.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), an executive agency of the Department for Transport, and part of its Driver Vehicle and Operations (DVO) group, issues provisional and full driving licences. The Driving Standards Agency requires the licence to be produced to show entitlement to undertake a test of competency to drive. Other organisations, in both the public and private sector, accept a driving licence as proof of identity.

Within the Department for Transport, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) issues a warrant pass to all inspectors of air accidents. These 121WA are used as proof of identity and detail the inspector's powers. The Marine Accidents Investigation Branch also issues identity cards to all its inspectors, which list their powers.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an executive agency of NT, issues the following documents that refer to a seafarer's identity: British seaman's card; discharge book; certificate of competency. Currently none is officially an identity document, but may be accepted as a form of identification in certain circumstances.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs issues it own identity card to those officers who exercise statutory powers, for example inspectorates and veterinary officers.

In the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 11 fire inspectors are issued with identity cards as are 350 planning inspectors. In both cases the cards are for identification purposes and give no right of access.

The Department for Work and Pensions has issued guidance to help people to prove their identity for social security purposes. They list the following as papers which can be used to help to prove identity.

Valid passport/ID card
Two or more passports if of dual/multi nationality
Home Office documents
Work permit
Letter from employer/contract of employment
Evidence of actively seeking work
Payslips
Mortgage/rental agreement of letter confirming where residing
Marriage/birth certificate/deed poll
Student loan documentation
Certificate of incorporation
Memorandum of association
Articles of association
Stock transfer form
Schedule D taxation form
Services contract
Invoices
Letter from accountant
Letter from clients
Letter from college, including details of type and length of course and weekly hours
Student ID card
Full driving licence

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Documents issued by departments and agencies in Northern Ireland are shown in the table below.

Type of Identification and Issuing Department/Agency	Purpose
Electoral identity card. Issued by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.	To prove entitlement to vote at Northern Ireland elections.
Concessionary fare Smartpasses (various types including the Senior Smartpass for over 65s). Issued by the Department for Regional Development.	To prove entitlement for concessionary fares on scheduled public transport services. Of these, the Senior Smartpass is an acceptable form of identification at Northern Ireland elections.
Photographic driving licences (full and provisional). Issued by the Department of Environment.	To prove entitlement to drive different vehicles either as a learner or as a fully qualified driver. Northern Ireland driving licences are also very widely accepted as a general form of official ID, accepted by banks, airlines, shops and can also be used to prove entitlement to vote.
Official document indicating IACS number and farm business number for use by farmers in Northern Ireland. Issued by the Department for Agriculture & Rural Development.	Farmers are eligible to apply for EU Peace 2 money's under certain measures. As proof of their identity they are required to produce individual IACS and farm business numbers.

In addition to these forms of ID, various Northern Ireland government departments issue certain staff with specific job-related official identification to enable them to carry out their duties. For example, trading standards officers are issued with a warrant card which empowers them to enforce a range of legislation including the authority to enter and inspect premises. Whilst these ID cards are official forms of ID, they are intended to be single-purpose only and are not widely used beyond the scope of the pass-holders duties, as proof of identity.