Report - Guardian

234 The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005the IT infrastructure needed will: “require more capacity and will need to be moreresilient than the current passport IT infrastructure”. 610Points of VerificationIn order for the desired policy outcomes to be achieved, the Home Office has expandedon its ideas for the final implementation of the system in the November RegulatoryImpact Assessment. Whilst these do not represent clear visions of how the system willwork, assumptions can be drawn from many of the assertions made. The Home Officehas divided the policy objectives into four sub-categories: illegal immigration andworking, terrorism and organised crime, identity fraud and delivery of public services.With regard to illegal immigration and illegal working, the RIA states that theverification service will be available, not just to the authorities for maintainingimmigration control, but also to providers of public services and private sectororganisations. 611 This could lead to the purchase and use of card readers and the use of averification service by employers. Further, mobile fingerprint readers used by thepolice, and already in use by the Immigration Service, are likely to be used to conduct(random) status checks on individuals. These readers must effectively have on-lineaccess to the database. 612The Home Office envisages the use of cards as proof of identity when making majorfinancial transactions, thus card readers/on-line verification will logically be required byfinancial service providers and some companies. It would appear that The Home Officealso envisage the use of identity cards in all transactions, as demonstrated by theassertion that terrorists will find it difficult to stay in hotels, rent accommodation, hirecars, buy mobile phones and generally carry out activities. 613 The extent to whichidentity cards will play a role in the performance of everyday purchases is not indicatedby the Home Office, although these could range from simple visual checks to on-linecomparisons of biometrics. Further, the Home Office anticipates that the ‘voluntary’production of ID cards will save police time; in the light of this, 614 individuals willundoubtedly be encouraged to carry the card as a matter of routine.Expositions of the role of the ID card in the reduction of identity fraud reiterate thesame perceived use of cards in the reduction of crime, in that the verification service ofeither production of a card or on-line checks is anticipated for transactions. The HomeOffice has focused on financial service providers and Customs & Excise, but use of‘chip & PIN’ by retail organisations is mentioned and it is suggested that replacementreaders could be modified to read ID cards. 615 This would seem to suggest that the useof the ID card (whether checked visually or on-line) could be anticipated in mostcommercial transactions, regardless of size.With regard to the delivery of public services, the Home Office stated in November2004 that the Bill in its current form contains no automatic requirement to produce an610 Home Office – Identity Cards Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment, , May 2005, paragraph 18(iii)611 Home Office – Identity Cards Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment, May 2005, paragraph 37612 Home Office – Identity Cards Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment, May 2005, paragraph 39-43613 Home Office – Identity Cards Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment, May 2005, paragraph 47614 Home Office – Identity Cards Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment, May 2005, paragraph 47(iv)615 Home Office – Identity Cards Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment, May 2005, paragraph 53-63