Employers say ID-card plans 'too vague'
Kablenet.com
Published: 13 Aug 2004 14:35 BST
The government's ID-card scheme is "vague and insufficiently thought out", the Confederation of British Industry said on 13 August, 2004.
Responding to the Home Office's consultation on the ID plans, the CBI said that if the scheme is to be effective, businesses and individuals must have confidence in the accuracy of information on the ID register. But the employers' organisation claims there is too little detail on how the government will achieve this, as well as uncertainty about the use of biometric technology, such as iris and fingerprint scans or facial images.
The CBI is particularly concerned that the government will not accept liability when companies use information on the ID register that turns out to be incorrect. It believes this could expose companies to time-consuming court cases and damaging legal bills for errors that are not their fault.
John Cridland, the CBI's deputy director-general, said: "Employers cannot be ID-card enforcers. They just want to be sure that when a would-be employee hands over ID, the system is in place to guarantee the employer can rely on what's in front of them. The scheme will be fatally undermined if employers do not have that trust."
The CBI's concerns echo information commissioner Richard Thomas's evidence to the home affairs select committee in June. Thomas told MPs that the government is unclear about the purposes and technical requirements for ID cards and system developments need a better understanding of the processes of identity verification.
Human rights groups, including Privacy International and Liberty, have expressed concerns about the accuracy of biometric identifiers, the type of information to be stored on the identity register and how it will be used.
The planned national ID card, based on passport and driving licence information and incorporating a microchip of biometric data, will be phased in from 2005. The scheme will be based on a national identity register, holding information on all the UK's 60 million citizens, including their address, date of birth and biometric details.
A Home Office spokesperson told Government Computing News that the CBI's views would be considered alongside all the other comments received on the draft ID cards bill.
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