Identity cards

The Identity Cards Act 2006 has now passed into law. Our concerns about some of the central features of the Government's proposals were drawn attention to, and echoed by, parliamentarians during the passage of the legislation. We have expressed long standing concerns that the proposals amounted to much more than a simple identity card and more significant concerns centred upon the creation of a National Identity Register.

Although there were some limited but welcomed changes made during the passage of the legislation, we are still concerned about the extent of the information collected and held by Government and how this will be used in practice. This is particularly true of the 'data trail' recorded when a card is checked, for this has the potential to build up a detailed picture of how individuals live their lives.

We warned during the passage of the legislation about the potential for 'function creep' for ID cards and the National Identity Register. Since the passage of the legislation the Government has already signalled its intention to develop the National Identity Register as an adult population database for the purposes of the planned Citizens Information Project.

Our priority is now to ensure that the way the Identity Cards scheme operates in practice takes full account of the data protection concerns.

Useful Links:

• Information Commissioner's concerns about the Identity Cards Bill October 2005
• Information Commissioner's concerns about the Identity Cards Bill May 2005
• Information Commissioner's position on Identity Cards Bill December 2004
• Information Commissioner's Press Releases concerns on Identity Cards, Questions and Answers
• The Information Commissioner's response to the Draft Bill.
• Information Commissioner's response to the Government's 2002 consultation: Overview , Annex A and Annex B.
• For copies of the Home Office's consultation documents and related research please visit the dedicated identity cards website.