Government plans to introduce a national identity card scheme raise
a number of serious questions of human rights compatibility
according to a report published today by the Joint Committee on
Human Rights (JCHR).
The JCHR is a Parliamentary Committee which considers whether
draft laws comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and
other human rights legislation. And on the draft Identity Cards
bill, it is concerned about compatibility with the Convention's
rights to respect for private life and to non-discrimination.
The draft bill, published by the Government in November,
includes proposals for a database to be kept containing detailed
personal information on cardholders. It could potentially create an
electronic fingerprint of everyone who uses a service, such as the
NHS, that requires an ID card check.
Experts and civil liberties groups are outraged by the plan,
which they see as rushed, over-reaching and damaging to human
rights.
The Government disagrees and in November, when publishing the
Bill, the then Home Secretary David Blunkett issued a statement
confirming that the draft legislation was compatible with the
European Convention. He did not, however, provide any reasoning for
that statement – an omission condemned by the JCHR today.
"We consider the absence of such explanation to be deeply
unsatisfactory in a Bill which is concerned throughout with issues
of personal privacy, and with the delicate balances to be struck
between individual rights to private life and the protection of the
community," says the report.
The JCHR then highlights concerns with the bill itself:
- The extent to which personal information will be regarded as a
"registrable fact", and required to be held on the register. The
JCHR questions whether all the information "serves a legitimate
aim, and is proportionate to the aim" – in particular proposals to
retain records "of each occasion on which a person's entry in the
Register has been accessed by others, a provision which is
potentially highly intrusive of privacy, if the information is
disclosed to third parties."
- The possibility of personal information being recorded without
the knowledge or consent of person involved.
- The possibility of ID cards becoming effectively compulsory for
persons who are required to hold "designated documents" such as
passports or residence permits.
- The possibility that a "phased in" compulsory registration
system – where defined groups are obliged to have an ID card – may
interfere with the rights to privacy and non-discrimination without
justification.
- When the scheme becomes compulsory, the extent to which
personal information may be disclosed from the Register to a
service provider in order to allow access to public services, and
the lack of safeguards against unnecessary disclosure.
- The potential, when the scheme becomes compulsory, to make
services or contracts conditional on an ID card or access to the
Register without sufficient safeguards. The report notes: "Although
information from an individual's entry on the Register can only be
accessed with his or her consent, this consent may be notional
where a person may be unable enter into contracts or access
services without giving consent."
- The provision for extensive data sharing from both public and
private sectors – the JCHR has asked Government to detail the range
of circumstances in which this may take place.
- The extensive provision given for information to be disclosed
to public bodies for a wide number or reasons – which can be
extended by regulation – without sufficient safeguards.
The JCHR has written to the new Home Secretary, Charles Clarke,
highlighting its concerns and will reconsider the issues on receipt
of his response.
