Consult Hyperion, a firm of information technology consultants, expressed relief at the cabinet’s decision to defer its decision as to whether there should be a compulsory ID card for UK citizens.
Neil McEvoy, Director, Consult Hyperion, said: ‘The announcement by the cabinet to defer such an important decision provides a useful breathing space during which a number of crucial issues can be studied and resolved. A knee-jerk decision on such an important topic could have caused no end of problems in the long run." An SMS poll taken at last week’s Digital Identity Forum, a two-day seminar organised by the firm, and attended by suppliers of technology to the public sector, plus representatives of government organisations, revealed that 81pc of attendees believe that UK citizens will carry an ID card within the next ten years. Those remaining delegates who disagreed cited privacy concerns and cost as the main barriers to adoption.
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What they think
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Of the 81pc of delegates who believe that UK citizens will carry an ID card, 71pc think that it will be issued by central government. Choosing the body to be responsible for issuing the cards, as well as tackling the complexities of managing enrolment itself, was seen as a critical issue, since the enrolment process must prevent people from making multiple applications. Biometric technology has been suggested as a possible solution to this problem, but this technology has never before been used to identify members of such a large population as the UK, the consultancy says. Plus, although it is important to ensure that nobody can enrol more than once, it is equally important to ensure that ‘non-persons’ are not created merely because their fingerprints are similar to those of someone who has already registered. Careful consideration must be given to the question of which biometric, or combination of biometrics, will be necessary to meet these enrolment requirements simultaneously. As far as the privacy debate is concerned, intelligent use of technology means that it is possible to manage electronic records, and share them in ways that enhance (rather than destroy) individual privacy. Many applications have been cited as potential uses for a national ID card, each of which has different requirements for data.
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ID example
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Consult Hyperion’s McEvoy says: ‘ID cards in any form will need to serve different needs for different people. A barman in a club, for example, will want an ID card that will tell him whether a customer is over 18, whilst the club’s owner will want a card that will tell him whether the barman is legally entitled to work in the United Kingdom," MvEvoy explains. "If the barman and customer get involved in a fight, then a policeman will want to know the ‘true’ identity of both of them. Devising an architecture that allows people to discharge their legal obligations – whilst protecting the cardholder’s privacy to the maximum possible degree – will take careful study.’
