HC Deb 19 June 1990 vol 174 cc497-8W
Sir John Wheeler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which Council of Europe states identity cards are(a) compulsory and (b) voluntary.

Mr. John Patten

Identity cards are compulsory in Belgium, Cyprus, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Spain and Turkey; and voluntary in Austria, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Portugal and Switzerland.

There is no system of identity cards in Denmark, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden or the United Kingdom.

Sir John Wheeler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which European Community states identity cards are machine readable; and how much information can be contained on the cards of the states which use machine-readable cards.

Mr. John Patten

I understand that the identity cards issued in the Federal Republic of Germany are machine readable. They contain details of the bearer's name, birth, description, address and nationality, together with the date and place of issue of the card, its number and its expiry date.