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Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has undertaken a privacy impact assessment of the proposed national identity scheme; and if he will make a statement. [62558]

Andy Burnham: The Government have carefully considered the privacy implications of the national identity scheme. The national identity register will hold only that information which is listed in Schedule 1 of the Identity Cards Act 2006. A significant amount of the information listed in Schedule 1 is already held on the passport database. For example, most of the information contained within paragraphs one, five and seven are held on the passport database which is administered by the Identity and Passport Service. Additionally, the information and personal reference numbers contained in paragraphs three and four are either allocated by a Government Department, or in the case of documents issued overseas, are generally recorded by a Government Department, usually the Immigration Service. The national identity register will hold much less information than databases that are administered by various private companies, for example credit card issuers and supermarket loyalty schemes. The Identity Cards Act ensures that personal reference numbers which would tend to reveal sensitive personal data cannot be held on the register. The PNC number for example, could not be added to the register as this could suggest that the individual had been of interest to the police, or that the individual had a criminal record.
 
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In addition to the safeguards in the Data Protection Act with which the scheme will comply, the Act also provides additional safeguards. Information will be disclosed only with consent under Section 12 of the Act, or via strictly controlled statutory procedures set out in Sections 17–21 of the Act. The individual will be able to view the 'audit log' information, set out in paragraph 9 of Schedule 1, through which they can view each occasion on which information has been disclosed from their record. A function of the national identity scheme commissioner set out at Section 22, will be to keep under review the extent to which the arrangements of the scheme make appropriate provision for securing the confidentiality of the information stored in the register.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to impose a duty on the National Identity Scheme Commissioner to investigate and resolve problems with identity cards experienced by individuals; and if he will make a statement. [62559]

Andy Burnham: The Identity and Passport Service operates a complaints system which individuals will be able to access in order to resolve any problems they may experience with identity cards. In addition, section 22 of the Identity Cards Act 2006, ensures that the commissioner must keep under review the extent to which arrangements made by the Secretary of State make appropriate provision for dealing with complaints. There is nothing in the Identity Cards Act that would either prevent individuals from making the commissioner aware of their complaints, or the commissioner from taking an interest in a complaint that had been brought to his attention.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of his reply to the letter from Dr. Brian Gladman of 9 February on identity cards. [62612]

Andy Burnham: A reply to Dr. Brian Gladman's letter was sent on the 27 of March 2006. However, it is not normal practice to place copies of correspondence with members of the public in the Library of the House.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of instituting (a) voluntary and (b) mandatory identity cards until 2011. [63194]

Andy Burnham: The latest cost estimates are set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which was published in May 2005. The current best estimate for the average annual operating costs of issuing passports and identity cards to British Citizens is £584 million per annum. Section 37 of the Identity Cards Act 2006 sets out that a report detailing estimated expenditure must be placed before Parliament every six months. The first report is due by 30 September 2006.

Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the final date is expected to be for an individual to renew his or her passport without compulsory entry on the Identity Cards Register. [63894]

Andy Burnham: The final date for an individual to renew their passport without registration of the individual's details on the National Identity Register will depend on the date from which passports become designated documents under secondary legislation.
 
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No final decision has been taken with regard a specific date at present as this will be influenced by information arising from the procurement process.

Identity Fraud

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in the last 12 months on identity fraud and theft. [60644]

Andy Burnham: Between 1 March 2005 and 28 February 2006 my ministerial colleagues, hon. Members and members of the public made 108 representations on identity theft and identity fraud. The Home Office led Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC), a collaboration between UK financial bodies, Government and the police implements effective measures that would help to combat the threat of identity fraud including those raised by victims of this type of crime.

The Government welcome the setting up of an all-party group on identity fraud. Last year I launched an IFSC campaign to raise awareness of identity crime to help people protect themselves against identity fraud, what to do if it happens to them and where to get further help. The website www.identitytheft.org.uk provides details of the leaflet that was distributed via police stations, Citizen Advice Bureaux, main libraries, UK Passport Service and DVLA offices in September 2005. I have also provided copies of the leaflet for hon. Members to pass on to their constituents.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have reported incidents of identity fraud and theft in each of the last 10 years. [62578]

Andy Burnham: Offences of identity fraud and theft cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime series therefore the information requested is not available centrally.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department what support and advice hisDepartment offers to victims of identity fraud and theft. [62579]

Andy Burnham: The Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC) was established to lead a cross public-private sector work programme to tackle identity fraud.

The IFSC was responsible for the production of a website—www.identitytheft.org.uk—which explains how to keep personal information safe, how to get help if one is the victim of identity theft, and what is being done to tackle this growing crime. This information has now been put into a leaflet which I launched last year. The leaflet provides the public with a quick and easy guide on things to look out for that indicate that they may be at risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud, or that they are already a victim. The leaflet has been distributed to main police stations, public libraries, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Identity and Passport Service regional offices and local DVLA offices. An online version can be found on the identity theft website. The leaflet has also been taken on and co-branded by a number of organisations such as banks and credit reference agencies who have made it available to their customers.
 
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More generally, the Home Office provides the voluntary organisation, Victim Support with a substantial grant to offer help to people who find themselves in the unfortunate position of being a victim of crime.

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Wirral, West constituency have reported crimes involving identity fraud in each of the last 12 months; and what sums were involved. [62350]

Andy Burnham: Offences of identity fraud cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime series therefore the information requested is not available centrally.

Immigration and Asylum Act

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1102W, on asylum/immigration, whether any individuals have been removed under section 10(8) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. [63577]

Mr. McNulty: Section 10(8) provides that the setting of removal directions invalidate any leave to enter or remain in the UK given to a person before the directions are made or while they are in force. Information on removals is published annually in the regular control of immigration statistics, available on the Home Office RDS website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

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