Moderator says: This webchat will start at 1600GMT on Tuesday 14 November 2006.
We look forward to seeing your questions.
Moderator says: We've had hundreds of questions. Many thanks to all of you who took the trouble to send them in. The webchat will start around 4pm.
James says: Hello, this is James Hall here. I am the Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service. I took on this challenge because I believe the National Identity Scheme is going to be a critical piece of national infrastructure for the twenty first century - and can be of real benefit to citizens, business and government. I am looking forward to your questions.
KEITH HELM: While I am in agreement with the need of I/D cards,what is it going to cost me and my wife to obtain one.We are both on the pension.
James replies: Keith, thank you for your question. Our current estimate is that a combined passport and ID card package will cost you together a unit cost of £93 per person. To put this in context the standard fee for the new ePassport is £66 today. You can see that our current view is that the ID Card has an incremental cost of less than £30 - £3 per year over the ten year life of the passport and ID card.
susan wilson: How can you ensure that information on a national identity database, would not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals?
James replies: Susan, this is a very important question and one that consumes much of my time. Our intention is that the National Identity Register will form part of the critical national infrastructure of the UK and will therefore be security accredited to the highest standard, in common with existing highly secure databases. And around this database we will have very tight controls to ensure that those able to access information have been security vetted; it will be a criminal offence to make unauthorised disclosures from the database. Of course, we recognise that criminals are getting increasingly sophisticated and we work continuously with the Government’s security community to ensure we keep ahead of them.
Moiz Nurbhai: Will this be a mandatory ID card, if so what will be the penalty for those who do not want the ID card?
James replies: When cards are first introduced they will not of themselves be mandatory, but it is intended that ID Cards will be required if you apply for other documents such as a British Passport or a Residence Permit for foreign nationals. The Government has always been clear that eventually it is intended to make the scheme compulsory with a civil financial penalty for failure to comply. However, this can only be done through future legislation to be agreed by Parliament.
David Wilkinson: Will the proposed ID cards replace passports? They seem to contain the same detail.
James replies: David, thanks for this. You will be able to travel on an ID Card within Europe, just as currently many Europeans travel to the UK on their ID Cards. Beyond that, you will still need a passport.
Bob Mottram: How often will the ID card need to be renewed? Will it last as long as a passport?
James replies: Bob, it is intended that an ID Card will need to be renewed every ten years, just like today's passport. Of course you might need to change it more quickly if you were to change your name. Your address will not be printed on the card and so address changes will not need a new card.
Michael Anderson: How many people will have access to the data collected in relation to ID cards?
James replies: Michael, thanks for the question. The Identity and Passport Service today has 3,800 employees, of whom just over 3,000 are involved in authorising passports. We don't yet know the future size of the organisation but we do not expect it to be greatly larger than the current organisation. Other organisations will be able to verify their data against the National Identity Register, but they their employees will not have access to the register itself. You might be interested to know that this can already happen with passports presented as proof of identity when opening a bank account or taking out a loan. This is proving very effective in discouraging fraud.
Andrew Jacobs: Will the biometric data be stored on the ID card, the database or both?
James replies: Andrew, thanks for the question. We are still working through the detailed design of how this will work but biometric data will be held on the National Identity Register and we expect that at least some biometric information will be stored on the card. Again, this is not new; we have now issued 3 million ePassports with a facial image biometric stored in a chip on the passport to international standards. The roll out of ePassport readers in UK ports and airports starts next year.
Gina Scott: Gina Scott, Government Technology Magazine, Digital Publications. Mr. Hall, Could you please explain a bit about the technology used on the ID cards. If one is stolen, will the card hold all my personal information, or is it merely a link to my information stored elsewhere? Thanks.
James replies: Gina, then answer is that only some parts of the information will be stored on the card itself. The full set of information will only be stored on the Register itself. Just as with a passport, it will be cancelled immediately and no-one else will be able to use your biometric.
Richard: Your answer to Michael Anderson doesn't take into account the Police, Goverment departments or the security services. What is the real figure?
James replies: Richard, I take your point. The Identity Cards Act does allow information to be provided from the register to police and security services where it is necessary in the public interest for the prevention and detection of crime. The people who would have access will be IPS staff who will able to provide the information.
Disenchanted: How will the introduction of an ID Card prevent illegal immigrants entering Britain.
James replies: An ID Card on its own will not prevent illegal immigration. You have to see the card as part of a broader strategy which also includes biometric visas and residence permits for foreign nationals. The long term intent is that a card of some form will be required by all those who are legally entitled to live and work in the UK. This will make it much easier for employers to ensure that they are not employing illegal immigrants. We are working very closely with our colleagues in IND in executing this strategy.
Geraint: Hello James,
thank you for agreeing to answer some questions on a public forum. Will you please answer the following ones, all of which will be data, or capable of being inferred from data, stored on the National Identity Register:
1) Your full name and any previous names or aliases?
2) Your home address and all other previous addresses?
3) The name of everyone with whom you have ever shared an address?
(can easily be inferred if everyone answers Q2)
4) Your mother's maiden name?
(can probably be inferred from Q3)
5) Your date of birth?
6) Your passport number?
7) Your National Insurance number?
8) Your driving licence number?
9) Your NHS number and European Health Insurance Card number?
10) Will you please also promise to return to this forum and update your response whenever any of the preceding answers change, or whenever you are required to prove your identity, such as any future applications for a bank account, mortgage or credit (please be sure to include the name of the lender) or any visits to clinics or hospitals for non-emergency treatment (please be sure to name the clinic)?
11) Will you please also promise to post copies of your biometric data (as recorded on the National Identity Register) when you have been processed for the NIR?
If you are not willing to answer any of these questions, please explain why not.
I look forward to your reply with eager anticipation.
Thanks, Geraint.
James replies: Geraint, good to hear from you again.
I think you miss the point. I don't expect to publish my personal information any more than I would expect you to. The National Identity Scheme is intended to provide you and everyone else with a secure and protected means of proving your identity.
And if you're worried about abuse of that information Parliament has established the role of National Identity Scheme Commissioner to oversee how the Register is protected and used. And of course we are also subject to the Data Protection Act and other existing regulations.
Geoff Machin: I have no problem with the principle of identity cards. I already have a chip passport and a photo' driving licence and a photo' ID card at my place of work. However, to say that National ID cards will help prevent terrorism is naive. Foreigners visiting this country will not have ID cards, home grown terrorists will. So how does this help prevent terrorist activities?
James replies: Geoff, one of my frustrations is the common assumption that the National Identity Scheme is only about terrorism. As I have said earlier it is about providing you with a secure means of proving your identity. But we do know that terrorists use multiple identities to avoid detection and anything we can do to make this more difficult must help.
Steve : With such oposition to the ID card scheme, in parliament and from the general public, why are you pushing ahead with it?
James replies: Steve, we are pushing ahead because the Government was elected with this as a manifesto commitment, Parliament voted for it, and our job as civil servants is to make it happen. That's what I and my team are committed to doing. Oh, and by the way the evidence is that the general public supports the scheme and are frustrated that it is taking so long.
Tom Fletcher: In your previous job at Accenture you were responsible for a £2 billion contract to build a database of medical records for the NHS. How did you allow the project to fall three years behind schedule and could we expect the same level of expertise with the ID card system? Accenture pulled out in September, blaming “significant delays” and wrote off £260 million in the process - how much of this was down to you?
James replies: Tom, thanks for giving me the opportunity to address this. I was responsible for Accenture's work at the NHS for the period from Easter 2005 to May 2006. I am very proud of what Accenture did during that time. Accenture was one of four local system providers, and the great majority of systems delivered were delivered by Accenture. But that's in the past and you should address any further questions to Accenture and Connecting for Health.
For my part, you should judge me now on whether the Identity and Passport Service delivers the National Identity Scheme. I am confident that we will. But equally I am fully aware that it is a difficult assignment and no doubt there will be some challenges on the way. You cannot expect that building critical national infrastructure for the twenty first century will be straightforward.
Jade : The issue of id cards has provoked much debate, would you consider holding a referendum?
James replies: Jade, I think the time for that has passed. The Home Office has been consulting since 2002 and Parliament has decided. To go back and have a referendum would be a matter for politicians, not civil servants.
Douglas Marr: Are you saying in your reply to Geoff Machin that Identity Cards would have been introduced even if there was no terrorist threat?
James replies: Douglas, it is tough to answer a hypothetical question as there is a terrorist threat. But my own view is that the logic of the National Identity Scheme would remain even if the terrorist threat was to go away. I think the benefits are substantial in the modern world.
Paul Martin: I am moving out of the UK soon. When I come to renew my passport in a few years, will my details still be entered onto the national ID database, even though I no longer live here?
James replies: Paul, if you are planning to move abroad permanently, your passport will likely be renewed at one of our overseas consulates and you will not be recorded on the Identity Register until you return to live in the UK.
CYRIL McCAFFERY: I am a U.K. citizen now a permanent resident of U.S.A. following my marriage to an American citizen in 2003.
How does the proposed legislation affect me - can I travel in U.K. and Europe on my U.K. Passport, or will I need the new I.D. Card?
James replies: Cyril, see my answer to the previous question. The National Identity Register will be a register of UK residents - British and foreign nationals resident in the UK. And you will be able to use your Passport to travel freely across the world. Hope that helps.
Tom Espiner: Why have there been no extensive trials into the usability of the biometrics technology that will need to be put in place?
James replies: Tom, good point. We are planning trials during the procurement process. And this is not new technology - we have already issued three million passports with facial biometrics. If you are concerned whether or not it works, and you have an ePassport, you can take it to any of our regional offices to test that it can be read. And 400 passengers a day are using IRIS at Heathrow airport.
r: For someone who doesn't drive and the times i ahve been asked for my 'drivers licence' as a form of identity, I wholeheartedly welcome ID cards - I want one 'yesterday' - my questiopn is
Why do we have to wait so long for the introduction of an ID card, yet drivers who apply, quite willingly, for a licence to drive, have no qualms about giving their private information
James replies: Kenneth, you will have seen from the rest of this chat that people have concerns about security etc. And it is a large-scale programme that we have to implement. To address the concerns and ensure that ID Cards are implemented successfully we have to take the time to get it right. As the Prime Minster recently reconfirmed our aim is to get the first ID Cards to British citizens in 2009. I hope you can wait that long, but in the mean time an ePassport is a very good means of proving your identity.
bill chidgey: We have an abysmal track record in this country with new IT systems. They are late, they don't work, they are over budget. Why should this exercise be any different, how can we be assured it will be secure?.
James replies: Bill, the track record is nothing like as bad as you might conclude from the press. Much of Government runs on large systems every day without incident; you only hear about the problems. You did not hear for example about the successful introduction of ePassports.
However, building out large scale IT infrastructure is a demanding challenge, and we should never be cavalier about it. Since I started this job, a month ago, my top priority has been to ensure that we have a sensible plan. I think that plan is emerging and it will be published next month. We then need to assemble the right skills and capabilities from Government and the IT industry to make sure we deliver.
sophie dodgeon: What is the benefit of the proposed ID cards that can't be provided by upgrading passports? Surely it would be cheaper to adapt the UK passport system rather than spend billions on a whole new form of identity.
James replies: Sophie, what we are actually doing is creating an integrated system that will issue both passports and ID cards through a single enrolment process. And in fact much of what we are doing will be required anyway to meet new international standards for biometric passports (including fingerprint biometrics by the end of the decade). But the Passport Book is not a particularly convenient document, compared to a card. Our estimate is that 70% of the costs we are incurring on the National Identity Scheme would be required anyway to keep pace with international passport standards.
Karine: Is it the case that identity cards are moving us towards a surveillance society?
James replies: Karine, it seems to me debatable that we are actually entering a surveillance society - and the things which are normally pointed at, like CCTV cameras, are usually being introduced under public pressure to increase personal safety. I don't think that ID Cards will threaten personal privacy. Rather the reverse; they will likely reduce the number of times you have to reveal personal information and increase the security of your personal data. Maybe we should start arguing the case that ID Cards will reduce the threat of the Surveillance Society and help safeguard civil liberties.
James says: We have reached the end of this webchat, and I need to go. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for taking the time to participate and for your interesting questions. In fact I am told that we have had more questions than any previous No10 webchat, so this is obviously a hot topic. I will try to persuade No10 to let me do this again some time in the future.
I realise I was not able to answer all the questions. But I will look at them all. And there is a lot of information on our website -
www.identitycards.gov.uk - which I hope will answer most of them.
