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Bokonist
Location: Location, Location, Location...
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Gray, you are right, they would not be required to carry them on the street (yet) however, you will be required to produce one upon request.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3127696.stm
Quote:
Q&A: Identity cards
Mock up ID card
A microchip in the ID cards will hold biometric information
The government has published its latest Identity Cards Bill. BBC News looks at how the scheme would work.
When would the cards be introduced?
A new agency, which will incorporate the functions of the UK passport service, will begin issuing ID cards from 2008.
An earlier draft bill had proposed combining ID cards with passports and driving licences but those plans were dropped after opposition from MPs.
Passport applicants will now get a new biometric passport and a separate ID card.
A private company, PA Consulting Group, already has a two-year contract to work on the design and implementation of the cards.
Will ID cards be compulsory?
Former home secretary David Blunkett initially wanted ID cards to be compulsory from 2013, subject to getting consent from Parliament, but ministers currently will not speculate on a date.
People would not have to carry the cards in the street, but would have to produce them when required.
The bill proposes linking access to "specified public services" to production of a valid ID card and includes penalties for those failing to register.
What information would be on the cards?
The card would contain basic identification information including a photograph of the card holder, along with their name, address, gender and date of birth.
But a microchip would also hold biometric information - a person's fingerprints or iris or facial scans, which are unique to the individual.
The biometric details are designed to make the cards more difficult to forge but critics say they are not foolproof and may be more difficult for some groups, such as disabled people, to use.
A national database will be created holding the personal information of all those issued with a card.
The whole scheme will be overseen by a new independent watchdog.
What the cards would store about you
Why is the government so keen on these cards?
The government thinks ID cards would be a powerful way of fighting illegal immigration, fraud, terrorism, organised crime and identity theft.
It also says biometric details are to be used on passports from 2006 whether ID cards go ahead or not.
The cards would be a way of checking the entitlement of an individual to receive services and benefits, including welfare payments and treatment under the NHS.
But the scheme is also designed to help stop terrorists and organised crime groups using false and multiple identities.
The ID Card Bill also creates new criminal offences for the possession of false identity documents.
How much would it cost?
Ministers say it will cost an estimated £93 to produce a combined passport and identity card. But the fees people will have to pay have not yet been set. It currently costs £42 for a new passport.
Cards could be free for under 16-year-olds and retired people above the age of 75, while those on low incomes could pay reduced rates.
However, experts at the London School of Economics believe that the identity card scheme could cost three times the government's estimate.
What are the objections?
Some critics worry the cards might cause friction among ethnic minority communities particularly affected by police stop and searches.
There are also fears that the cards would simply drive illegal immigrants into hiding, forcing them to avoid contact with hospitals and police.
Civil liberties campaigners say the scheme could lead to thousands of ordinary people being criminalised if they refuse to own the cards.
They also worry that too many people will be able to access personal details on the ID register without card holders knowing.
But Home Secretary Charles Clarke has said officials who secretly accessed information they were not allowed to see would face up to two years in jail.
Do other countries have ID cards?
Several countries in the European Union now have some form of ID card, even if they are not compulsory.
They have become widely accepted by their citizens. In France, for example, about 90% of the population carries one.
But many other countries, like Japan, Australia and New Zealand, have not adopted the idea.
Neither has the US, but it does intend to make visitors have cards to cover their visas.
Why did Britain get rid of ID cards after World War II?
During the WWII the ID card was seen as a way of protecting the nation from Nazi spies.
But in 1952, Winston Churchill's government scrapped the cards.
The feeling was that in peacetime they simply were not needed.
In fact they were thought to be hindering the work of the police, because so many people resented being asked to produce a card to prove their identity.
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Furthermore, there are reports that the government plans to sell this information on to other organisations.
At the end of the day, this battle is not about ID cards, Per Se....this battle is about the National Identity Register which the government is developing.
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"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before.
He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way."
-Kurt Vonnegut
Last edited by zenmaster10665; 06-30-2005 at 04:40 AM..
Reason: detail clarification
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