Birth Announcements & Cards

Enabling legislation for the British national identity card was passed under the Identity Cards Act 2006 . The multi-billion pound scheme has yet to enter procurement. more...

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The cards will have a lesser role than the database they are linked to, which is known as the National Identity Register (NIR). The Act specifies fifty categories of information that the NIR can hold on each citizen , including up to 10 fingerprints, digitised facial scan and iris scan, current and past UK and overseas places of residence of all residents of the UK throughout their lives and indexes to other Government databases - which would allow them to be connected. The legislation also says that any further information can be added. .

The legislation further says that those renewing or applying for passports must be entered on to the NIR. It is expected that this will happen soon after the UK Passport Service, which has now been renamed the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), start interviewing passport applicants to verify their identity. Various degrees of concern about the scheme have been expressed by human rights lawyers, activists, security professionals and IT experts.

Timescale and implementation progress

On October 11, 2006, the Government announced a timescale described as "highly ambitious" by computer experts. The Home Office said they will publish an ID management action plan in the months from November 2006, followed by agreements with departments on their uses for the system. There will be a report on potential private sector uses for the scheme before 2007 Budget.

On September 25, 2006, Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said that "There are opportunities which give me optimism to think that actually there is a way of exploiting systems already in place in a way which brings down the costs quite substantially"

Emails leaked in June 2006 indicate that the plan is already in difficulty, with plans for the early introduction of a limited register and ID card with reduced biometrics known as the 'early variant' described as a "huge risk".

The schedule for putting passport applicants' and renewers' details on the National Identity Register (NIR) has not been and may never be announced. It is not expected to happen until Spring 2007 according to NO2ID. Applicants will be able to opt out of having a card issued until 2010 although they cannot opt out of having their details recorded on the NIR. Identity cards will be compulsory for anyone getting a new or renewed passport after January 1st 2010. Registration will become compulsory for non-UK passport holders resident in the UK by 2013. The Home Office currently estimates ID cards will be available from 2009.

Historical and international comparisons

Read more at Wikipedia.org