The appointment of former civil servant Sir Joseph Pilling as
the first Identity Commissioner was confirmed by the Home Office
today.
His duties will be to oversee the database and ensure that it is
accurate and secure. He will also monitor the Government's and the
private sector's use of the database and of any ID cards linked to
it.
He will take up office on 1st October in time for the issuing of
the first ID cards to people in Greater Manchester, the Home Office
said.
"The public has the right to expect the National Identity
Service to be run to the highest standards," said Home Secretary
Alan Johnson. "The Identity Commissioner will champion their
interests, providing a strong and independent voice, holding the
Identity and Passport Service to account and ensuring information
collected under the Service is kept securely."
“He will also deliver independent scrutiny of the uses to which
identity cards are put by public authorities and private
organisations," he said.
Pilling will report once a year directly to the Home Secretary.
The report will be laid before Parliament.
Government departments will be required by law to provide
Pilling with "whatever information the Commissioner and his staff
need to carry out investigations", a Home Office statement
said.
“In the early weeks and months as I work out how best to do the
job I intend to listen to the people across the National Identity
Service and to people outside the system with views about my new
role," said Pilling. "[I] plan to be an independent voice in my
work towards safeguarding the public’s privacy and identity rights,
as Parliament intended."
Pilling will not oversee the ID card rights of foreign
nationals. That oversight is carried out by the Information
Commissioner and the Chief Inspector for the UK Border Agency.
Pilling was the most senior civil servant at the Northern
Ireland Office from 1997 to 2005.
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