[Reader-list] Entitlement Cards

[Jeebesh Bagchi]

The mass ID cards system has now got a new name. It will be called the 
E-cards system. The interesting thing is that in any discussion on mass 
(nation or region wide) ID cards system, this word - `entitlement` is usually 
implied or directly refered to as a reason for it's validity. This word makes 
the `border` of the card disappear. Ingenious.

best jeebesh

PS: The death caused by nuclear bombs was made tolerable and somewhat 
acceptable by the use of the word `only` before a figure of projected 
fatality or casualty.

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http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=311490

ID cards: Blunkett reveals the 'entitlement card'
By Andrew Woodcock, Political Correspondent, PA News03 July 2002

All UK residents could be required to hold a card with details of their 
identity under a scheme outlined to the House of Commons by Home Secretary 
David Blunkett today.

But Mr Blunkett made clear that there was no question of the "entitlement 
card" being a compulsory ID card, which individuals would be required to 
carry at all times.

The scheme most likely to be adopted would involve existing credit card-style 
driver's licences and the recently-announced passport cards doubling up as 
entitlement cards, with a separate card for people who are eligible for 
neither of these documents.

Mr Blunkett said he was personally "enthusiastic" about entitlement cards, 
which would be the first ID card scheme in the UK since the abandonment of 
wartime identity documents in 1952.

They could help combat illegal immigration and illegal working, fraud and 
identity theft, while at the same time helping people apply for benefits and 
services to which they were entitled, he said.

But he played down suggestions that the cards would provide a weapon in the 
fight against terrorism in the wake of the 11 September attacks on the USA.

"Following the events of 11 September, there was a call to introduce a type 
of identity card' system. We said we would not be giving a knee-jerk reaction 
in the wake of this terrorism and we have stuck to that," he said.

Home Office estimates put the cost of the scheme over the next 13 years 
between £1.3 billion, if simple plastic cards were used, and £3.1 billion, 
for hi-tech computerised cards capable of holding fingerprints or even the 
iris patterns in holders' eyes, which are unique to each individual.

Holders could be asked to pay for the cards through a £10-£18 hike in the 
cost of driving licences and passports from the current charges of £29 and 
£30 respectively.

Refusing to register for a card would probably be a punishable offence, but 
ministers indicated that they did not anticipate major efforts to enforce 
participation.

They expected most people would want to "opt in" to the scheme because they 
would be denied services if they did not. Mr Blunkett said he was "painfully 
aware" of the need for information on the cards to remain absolutely 
confidential, in order to allay concerns over invasion of privacy.

He stressed that the Government was "neutral" on the issue, and would wait 
until public reaction had been tested before announcing its plans early next 
year.

Any legislation would not be introduced until the following session of 
Parliament, and it would take three years to set up the scheme and a further 
five or six years before the details of an estimated 67.5 million UK resident 
were included on a central database.

Mr Blunkett today launched a consultation document, setting out various 
options and offering the public six months to comment on them.

He said: "I am not going to disguise my own enthusiasm for an entitlement 
card system, but it is for the public to decide whether or not this is 
something they would see as useful and making their lives easier.

"I have made it clear that the introduction of an entitlement card would be a 
major step and that we will not proceed without consulting widely and 
considering all the views expressed very carefully.

"I want to see a far-reaching and meaningful public debate on the issue of 
entitlement cards, and a vigorous response from all parts of the community."

The creation of a card scheme could involve every UK resident aged 16 and 
over being issued with a new unique personal number.

But the Home Office stressed that no records would be kept on the cards of 
racial origin, sexual orientation, religious belief, trade union membership, 
political affiliation, health or criminal convictions or charges.

"The central register would not become the depository for a wide range of 
information held by different Government departments or agencies about 
individuals," said today's document.

"The Government is clear that protection against intrusion or unauthorised 
access to personal information is crucial if any such scheme were to work."

The most hi-tech versions of the card could be used for a variety of 
functions, ranging from benefit applications to an EU-wide travel document, a 
library card or public transport season ticket.

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http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2002-daily/04-07-2002/main/../world/w12.htm

UK plans ID cards for immigrants 

LONDON: Britain will float plans on Wednesday for its citizens to carry 
identification cards to help combat illegal immigration and benefits fraud. 
Home Secretary David Blunkett will launch a consultation process on the 
issue, examining the risks and benefits of what he has called "entitlement 
cards".

But he will stress in a statement to parliament that no decisions have yet 
been taken. Rights groups have branded the idea discriminatory and a breach 
of civil liberties. Home Office minister Beverly Hughes told BBC radio the 
cards would obviously serve as a form of identification, but added that she 
hoped the consultation process would encourage a "debate about citizenship 
and about cohesion in society".

"There may be a role for a card in underlining people's entitlements in 
society and in emphasising their citizenship and their membership of 
society," she said. Britons have only ever had to carry identity documents 
during wartime, unlike the vast majority of Europeans who have to produce ID 
cards at the request of police or officials.

But the September 11 suicide attacks on the United States and efforts to 
clamp down on illegal immigration into Britain through other European 
countries has prompted Blunkett to look at the balance between liberty and 
the need for identification.