Identity Cards for British Nationals to be abolished

The new government has announced that the first piece of legislation to be put forward in Parliament will be the Identity Documents Bill which will abolish the national identity card scheme. As the Deputy Prime Minister explained, it is the first step in “…dismantling the surveillance state – but ID cards are just the tip of the iceberg”.

The government is hoping for a “swift” Parliamentary process and having the scheme scrapped by September 2010. As a result all Identity Cards issued to British Citizens would be cancelled. Those who have already obtained them will no longer be able to use them as travel documents across the European Union, and will need to carry a UK Passport instead. The press release published on the Home Office website announces that the cards will be cancelled within one month from the Bill Receiving Royal Assent, allowing the public time to switch back to passports. The fee of £30 paid for the ID card will not be returned.

As part of the proposal, the National Identity Register, the database for biographic and biometric information used for the ID cards will also be destroyed.

The estimated savings that this move is supposed to bring within the next 4 years is approximately £86m with a total of £800m over the next 10 years.

ID cards for foreign nationals remain in place for the time being.