Report - Guardian

The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005 291'Function creep'34. Whatever the merits or otherwise of suchdevelopments [eg. the establishment of a nationalfingerprint register], their potential should berecognised. It is essential that they do not developincrementally or by executive action but are subjectto full Parliamentary scrutiny. These issues are atleast as significant as the decision to make cardscompulsory. (Paragraph 158)35. In a similar way, identity cards are not plannedto be a single card for all public services, but itclearly is possible, and perhaps desirable, for asuccessful identity card scheme to develop in thisdirection. But this should be a decision ofParliament, not of the executive. (Paragraph 159)Information on the database36. The functions of the Register entail establishingan individual's identity in a number of differentcircumstances. For some of these, such asinteraction with local authorities, addresses may benecessary. There is therefore a case for includingthem in the National Identity Register. But to do sowould have significant administrative andoperational consequences, since the Register wouldneed to be updated frequently; the extra work couldlead to mistakes which would be disastrous if notproperly handled. The Government should be moreexplicit about the case for including addresses anddemonstrate that the advantages of doing sooutweigh the problems that would be created. TheGovernment should also clarify whether addresseswould be only on the Register or whether theywould be legible on the surface of the card itself.(Paragraph 163)37. In many parts of Europe, including Sweden andGermany, where there is a requirement to registeraddresses, it is a legal requirement for landlords toregister their tenants. We recommend that this beadopted if the Government decides to includeaddresses, since it would help alleviate the problemof frequent changes of address. (Paragraph 164)38. The nature of the individual number and itsrelationship to other identifying numbers used bythe state are more decisions that are crucial for thedesign and development of the system. TheGovernment must be clear and open about the issuesinvolved and enable informed parliamentary andpublic scrutiny of any decisions (Paragraph 167)Supported by research.Supported by research.Conditionally supported. While there may be ajustification for the requirement to provide orstore addresses, the case for inclusion of this dataon the national register has not been clearlyestablished. Using the national identityregistration number to link to other databasesmay be a more secure and cost effective option.Not supported by research. This requirementwould create a range of additional security andadministrative issues. Tenants would be requiredto disclose their identity card to landlords, and inthe event of loss or failure of the card, may bedenied housing.Supported by research.