According to the proposed scheme, data on all British residents over the age of 16 will be held in a national database, and everyone will be issued with an "entitlement card" required for access to social security benefits, education and health services.
If adopted the scheme, the Home Office says, will improve the delivery of public services and will tackle illegal immigration and identity fraud.
The "entitlement cards" are intended to contain the holders' personal data such as employment status, signature and nationality. The ID cards might also take the form of smartcards, containing biometric data such as digital photographs, fingerprints and iris imprints.
According to the Home Office, the majority of people who have participated in the consultation process "do see a role" for an entitlement card in improving access to services, and believe that additional security measures such as iris identification would help them "establish their identity more securely."
The Home Office also said that 450 individuals have already opted to try the proposed iris photographing technology, which is available in a Passport Office and a Post Office in London. Of those, 81% said they would be "in favour" of the measure, whilst 64% were "in favour" of the proposed ID scheme.
Home Office Minister, Lord Falconer, said in a statement:
"It is crucial to the Government that any proposed entitlement card scheme would not breach the fundamental privacy and civil liberties we all benefit from. No agency outside Government would have access to any information unless the card-holders specifically chose to allow the agency or company access."
He also said that only "basic details" such as name, address and date of birth of UK residents would be stored centrally, and that there are no plans for a single Government database containing all information on the population held by all departments.
The scheme, and particularly the plans for biometric identification have raised privacy concerns. Privacy advocates have also claimed that the proposed ID cards will have no effect in fraud, but introduce additional problems of criminal false identity and create administrative chaos.
The public consultation period finishes on 31st January 2003.
The entitlement card and identity fraud consultation document is available as a 145-page PDF from:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/cpd/entitlement_cards.pdf
