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Amendment No. 44, in clause 5, page 4, line 43, at end insert

'(d)   state that the individual does not consent to be included in the Register on the basis of the application.'.

Amendment No. 4, in clause 5, page 5, line 21, leave out 'statutory purposes' and insert

'purposes of the National Identification Scheme specified in section [National Identification Scheme]'.

Amendment No. 5, in clause 8, page 7, line 7, at end insert

'(1A)   An ID card may only be issued for the purposes of the National Identification Scheme specified in section [National Identification Scheme].'.

Amendment No. 45, in clause 10, page 9, line 5, after 'card', insert

'and about whom there is an entry in the Register'.

 
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Amendment No. 34, in clause 12, page 10, line 30, after 'circumstances', insert

'save details of a change of address for any place where he has lived for a period of less than three months'.

Amendment No. 6, in clause 12, page 11, line 9, leave out 'statutory purposes' and insert

'purposes of the National Identification Scheme specified in section [National Identification Scheme]'.

Amendment No. 50, in clause 15, page 14, line 12, leave out from beginning to 'evidence' in line 13.

Amendment No. 51, in clause 15, page 14, line 13, leave out from 'himself' to end of line 14.

Amendment No. 61, in clause 17, page 15, line 39, after 'he', insert 'reasonably'.

Amendment No. 62, in clause 17, page 15, line 41, at end insert

'(1A)   Information provided under this section shall be limited to—

(a)   a person's full name,

(b)   his date and place of birth,

(c)   his address, and

(d)   his current residential status (which shall mean his nationality and his entitlement to remain in the United Kingdom).'.

Amendment No. 7, in clause 43, page 36, line 35, leave out from 'the' to end of line 36 and insert

'Register established as part of the National Identification Scheme under section [National Identification Scheme];'.

Amendment No. 8, in clause 43, page 36, line 37, leave out '1(5)' and insert

'[National Identification Scheme](4)'.

Amendment No. 9, in clause 43, page 36, leave out line 41.

Amendment No. 63, in clause 45, page 38, line 17, after 'from', insert

'the provisions to which section [Commencement and continuation in force of certain provisions of this Act] applies'.

Amendment No. 64, in clause 45, page 38, line 20, leave out 'to bring' and insert

'under this section to bring certain'.

Amendment No. 10, in schedule 1, page 40, line 15, leave out paragraph (h).

Amendment No. 13, in schedule 1, page 40, line 32, at end insert

'and the number of any ID card issued to him, which numbers shall be the same'.

Amendment No. 14, in schedule 1, page 40, line 33, leave out paragraph (b).

Mr. John Gummer (Suffolk, Coastal) (Con): On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Given the position that we now face, would it be convenient for the Chair not to use the expression, "With this it will be convenient"? It is not convenient for the House; we are proceeding in the current manner because we have to. That is altogether different.

Mr. Deputy Speaker: The right hon. Gentleman is an experienced Member of the House. I simply refer to the way in which the amendments are grouped, not the time allowed for them.

Mr. Malins: I repeat that our problem is that we now have 17 minutes in which to get through a great deal of
 
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business and it simply cannot be done properly. I had intended to outline new clause 1 at some length. In fairness, I cannot do that because other hon. Members want to make some contribution to the debate, and I shall ensure for my part that they have an opportunity to do that.

My hon. Friends and I would very much like to divide the House on new clause 1. We have already discussed the fact that the purpose of the Bill is principally to set up the national identity register. New clause 1 would change the existing clause 1 in a number of respects. Under the existing clause, I shall be obliged to provide "registrable facts" about myself to others, so that they may check on me. I have already remarked on the vast number of registrable facts that an individual will have to provide. New clause 1 seeks to limit that number. After all, if I am seeking to establish my identity, why on earth should I provide more than my full name, my date and place of birth, my address and my residential status?

Mr. Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): It would be helpful to the Liberal Democrats if the hon. Gentleman could confirm that his new clause seeks dramatically to restrict the functions of the scheme. He will be aware that we are opposed to the scheme as a whole. If he is seeking our support, we might find something that seeks to restrict it preferable to the Government's option, although that would be no indication of our support for the scheme as a whole.

Mr. Malins: The hon. Gentleman contributed significantly in Committee and I respect his views on this matter. He is right: we are seeking to place restrictions on these measures, in this brief debate.

The purpose of clause 1 ought to be to establish the real purpose of the scheme. The Information Commissioner himself has said:

"The lack of a clearly defined purpose for ID cards, including the continuing change in focus causes concern".

Having heard different arguments over the past two or three years about what the Bill is for, I believe that it is time to establish in the Bill what the card and the register are going to do, and what the purpose of the scheme is. Surely the Government should insert in the Bill the statement that its principal purpose is to assist the Secretary of State

"in the preventing or detecting terrorist acts in the United Kingdom or elsewhere or otherwise in the interests of national security",

as new clause 1 would do. I believe that it is essential that that vital purpose should be specifically set out, although the Government appear to disagree.

We have not yet been persuaded that the register and the cards will significantly contribute to reducing acts of terrorism. We also need to be persuaded that the costs involved will be worth while. Could the money be better spent elsewhere? The Information Commissioner, Mr. Thomas, also told the Home Affairs Committee:

"I want to see on the face of the statute right at the outset a very clear indication of the stated purposes for this card."

Dr. Nick Palmer (Broxtowe) (Lab): The list in new clause 1(3) differs significantly from the provision in
 
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clause 1 only in that it omits any mention of illegal employment. Do the Opposition not care about illegal employment?

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