Problems the ID Card scheme is meant to solve

How will ID cards protect us from the threat of terrorism?

They won't.

Despite evidence that the biggest threat of terrorism is home-grown, arguments that ID cards will ‘protect’ us from foreign-born terrorists continue to grow. This is simply not the case. Foreigners who are in the UK for three months or less will not have to carry one. Three months is plenty of time to arrive, plant a bomb and leave again. To those who are resident and will have to carry them, an ID card will deter them no less than, say, a bus pass.

The July 7 bombers actually carried credit cards with them to identify them after the bombings, because they wanted to be recognized as martyrs. They would have been equally capable of carrying out the attacks with ID cards in their pockets.

What will this do to combat illegal working?

It will almost certainly encourage it. Other countries such as Spain, which do have identity cards, have similar levels of illegal working.

At present, under the current barrage of Immigration Acts, an employer who employs illegal immigrants faces heavy penalties. To demonstrate that they acted in good faith, they must show that upon employing the person, they have shown a recent (last three months) document from the Home Office confirming the employee’s entitlement to work.

If a person enters the UK for more than three months, and is entitled to work, they will be given an identity card. The employer will now only have to check the identity card in order to employ this person. If they overstay their visa (for example, a person on a one year’s working holiday-maker’s visa, who stays for six years) but are in possession of an identity card, it will be very easy for them to remain - illegally - in employment.

How will ID cards and the NIR help tackle identity fraud?

In theory, it will be impossible to have more than one identity, because it will be impossible to obtain an ID card in more than one name – your biometrics will already be on the database, thus alerting the official to the fact that you have an ID card already.

This of course presupposes that the sort of people who want multiple identities are otherwise law-abiding types, who will bother to go down to the local registration centre to register more than once. It ignores the fact that criminal gangs will almost certainly be able to forge multiple ID cards. In reality, therefore, identity fraud will remain a problem but the organized gangs will make enormous profits.

This will lead to a situation where benefit fraud, opening multiple bank accounts, obtaining multiple loans etc. is made easier – because the biometrics are unlikely to be checked on every single one of these minor transactions. The card will be looked over by an official and if all seems well, the transaction will be processed. Spot checks are more likely to occur as it will be impossible to check the biometrics on every occasion.

How will ID cards and the NIR help tackle benefit fraud?

They won’t. However sophisticated the technology is, it is unlikely that an organised criminal gang will be unable to reproduce the cards. This means that benefit fraud will become easier in many respects – if a person claims twice in their own name, as happens now, they are often caught. If they claim in multiple (forged) identities, it will be much harder to prevent.

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