Is the card compulsory or voluntary?
The Home Office has been clear that the intention has always been to create a compulsory regime, but until recently the government has convoluted this crucial point. Government ministers have almost unanimously ruled out the option for legal compulsion to carry a card, and indeed clause 15 (3) of the Bill specifically rules out any provision (within the ID cards Bill) for requiring people to carry the card at all times. This clause also rules out compulsion to submit a card to receive a benefit or any public service. However, this clause does not provide protection to anyone who has been ordered to register for a card under the “compulsion” clause of the Bill. Following approval of an order, 6 (1) empowers the Secretary of State to order anybody or everybody to register for a card. This might include benefits recipients, new employees, people wanting to open a bank account, people of a particular ethnicity, people who have been in contact with law enforcement or, indeed, the entire pop
