What are the aims of the scheme?
• You say now that people wouldn’t have to carry these cards, but what’s to stop you or a future government changing their minds? The Identity Cards Act 2006 explicitly prohibits the Government from making it a requirement to carry a card. If a future Parliament wants to change this, it would have to pass further primary legislation. • Won’t the proposal lead to racial discrimination? […] The scheme will be open to everyone and treat everyone on an equal basis. It will also incorporate rules on the production of cards/identity checks that are consistent and do not single out particular groups. • Will the Data Protection Act 1998 apply? Yes. Individuals registered on the National Identity Scheme will have subject access rights under the Data Protection Act 1998. • How will ID cards protect us from the threat of terrorism? The National Identity Scheme will disrupt the use of false identities by terrorist organisations, for example in money laundering and organised crime. We know that t
