NO2ID

You can check the list of councils on this page:

http://www.no2id.net/resources/motions/index.php

but I think several more may have passed motions since the list was last updated, as I know from direct communication that Carlisle City Council passed an anti-ID motion (proposed by a Labour councillor) earlier this year - and I think Salford did as well.

Notice of Motion
To
COUNCIL
21st February, 2007

Opposition to National ID Cards

To be moved by Councillor Cooke and seconded by Councillor Deas

This Council notes that:

1. despite widespread and sustained Parliamentary opposition, the UK Government has passed the Identity Cards Act 2006, establishing a National Identity Register in which the details of all UK residents over the age of 16 will be compulsorily logged;

2. the impact of the Act on local authority budgets, including that of this Council, is unknown;

3. a poll on the website of Hazel Blears, MP for Salford and Chair of the Labour Party, shows overwhelming public opposition to ID cards;

4. under the Act, all UK residents aged 16 and over will, at their own cost, have to report to ‘enrolment’ centres for fingerprinting and interview;

5. this Act creates not only an ID card which will include the biometric data and other personal details of the holder, but broad new data-sharing powers;

6. the Government has estimated that the cost of such a scheme will reach at least £5.4 billion, with independent research predicting much higher costs, and residents being forced to pay £93.00 or more to be registered and issued with a card when they renew, e.g. their passport or other official documents;

7. under the Act, the Home Secretary has the right to cancel or require surrender of an ID card without reason or right of appeal;

8. the Government has a poor record of setting up national databases, as experience of the Child Support Agency, Passport Agency and Criminal Records Bureau reveals;

9. there is no evidence to suggest that countries with national ID cards are in any way safer from terrorist activity or illegal immigration, as the Madrid bombings and recent civil unrest in France has demonstrated;

This Council believes: that

• the disbenefits of such a scheme significantly outweigh any benefits.

• the ID Cards Bill will permanently alter the relationship between the individual and the state.

• the National Identity Register and the ID cards scheme will cost far more than is currently estimated, and that there are significant concerns about the cost to local authorities, erosion of personal privacy and potential abuses of civil liberties.

This Council resolves: that it will :

1. make representations to HM Government at every possible stage, reiterating this Council's opposition to national ID cards.

2. make it a policy of the Council that national ID cards would not be required to access Council services or benefits unless specifically required to do so by Act of Parliament.

3. take no part in any pilot scheme or feasibility works in relation to the introduction of national ID cards.

4. join over 30 Councils across the country that have voted to affiliate to the NO2ID campaign, which already includes MPs and peers, unions (including UNISON, representing 1.3 million public service workers) and several political parties.