About time, we’re a country where you have ad hoc ID systems which are fine to a point, but also systems that unless you know a nice middle class person to say your ok, makes it impossible to do things.
It’s not an attack on your liberties, no matter how hard you squeal
Its a great idea but no doubt we will soon have morons who don't understand technology, the law or even worse are going to be deliberately obtuse amd pretend this is an attack on freedom, civil liberties etc. We will soon see "itS AlL abOUt ConTrOl" etc, whilst complaining about illegal immigration which this will actually combat.
20 years ago I'd have been absolutely against - the very principle is wholly un-British, and the sort of nonsense that we would leave to the French and suchlike.
If, in the the Britain of 2025, it means that the country can get a tighter grip on what citizens and visitors can and cannot have access to, then as far as I'm concerned, crack on.
In the new world, it's a digital solution that we effectively have already in countless other forms.
The one absolutely massive caveat is that there is still no obligation to show anyone.
Biggest problem with this is likely to be this (and every previous government's) shambolic record on rolling out national scale IT projects. I'd have concerns about the database being a juicy target for hackers as well - but the benefits would outweigh the risks.
I have a Passport and Digital Driving License already thank you .
Yes, but it's easy to say you don't drive or travel abroad so don't have either.
yes that's when an ID card would be useful for someone, but as already said if you have a passport and digital driving license already why would you need an ID card and then who's paying for it?
A Blockchain-based digital ID card would be easy, simple and straightforward to build. The only tricky piece would be rolling it out, nationally. But, like the vaccine passport, its deployment could be incentivised by ensuring ID-only access to certain government services.
The cost of deployment would be massively outweighed by the billions in savings it would generate.
So the cost, per person could be trivial, or, indeed free.
On another thread a bloke was saying how within the NHS their various delegates and systems don't share information with one another so what would this do that current government issued ID doesn't?
I'm not over the moon with the suggestion, it is another erosion of privacy. I've got a National Insurance number, passport, driving licence, pay council tax so why do I need more documentation? What will a compulsory national ID give that those don't?
Politicians and the state in general cannot help themselves but make the state even bigger when it should be getting smaller
On another thread a bloke was saying how within the NHS their various delegates and systems don't share information with one another so what would this do that current government issued ID doesn't?
I'm not over the moon with the suggestion, it is another erosion of privacy. I've got a National Insurance number, passport, driving licence, pay council tax so why do I need more documentation? What will a compulsory national ID give that those don't?
Politicians and the state in general cannot help themselves but make the state even bigger when it should be getting smaller
We already have NI numbers, passports and driving licences, but none of them work as a single, universal proof of identity. A national digital ID would do three things those can’t: 1. Cut waste by replacing overlapping systems and saving billions in admin costs. 2. Stop fraud by making it far harder to claim services under false identities. 3. Speed things up so you can prove who you are instantly, online or in person. In short: instead of juggling multiple documents that only work in certain places, you’d have one secure ID that works everywhere - cheaper, safer, faster.
"Reports have suggested the government plans to use a new scheme to check people's right to live and work in the UK, with people's individual ID checked against a central database."
If it's used for only this I don't have a particular issue.
Digital ID makes me immediately think they're surveilling online useage etc. but if that's not what it's being used for I don't see the problem.
I would like to know the consequences of not having one. I doubt you would be kicked out of the country or forbidden to hold a job, or receive benefits. All three would have anti-human rights consequences.
We already have national insurance numbers, NHS numbers, passport numbers and driving licence numbers.
Cards are going to be stolen to order to sell to people who can't get one legally.
The contracts for producing the ID cards, writing the IT systems and maintaining the systems will probably all be given to families of Government ministers (obviously not my view).
The IT system budget will be £billions and probably not be delivered within budget or the agreed timescale.
Comments
If, in the the Britain of 2025, it means that the country can get a tighter grip on what citizens and visitors can and cannot have access to, then as far as I'm concerned, crack on.
In the new world, it's a digital solution that we effectively have already in countless other forms.
The one absolutely massive caveat is that there is still no obligation to show anyone.
Should probably contain your blood group, and donor card.
The cost of deployment would be massively outweighed by the billions in savings it would generate.
So the cost, per person could be trivial, or, indeed free.
I'm not over the moon with the suggestion, it is another erosion of privacy. I've got a National Insurance number, passport, driving licence, pay council tax so why do I need more documentation? What will a compulsory national ID give that those don't?
Politicians and the state in general cannot help themselves but make the state even bigger when it should be getting smaller
1. Cut waste by replacing overlapping systems and saving billions in admin costs.
2. Stop fraud by making it far harder to claim services under false identities.
3. Speed things up so you can prove who you are instantly, online or in person.
In short: instead of juggling multiple documents that only work in certain places, you’d have one secure ID that works everywhere - cheaper, safer, faster.
If it's used for only this I don't have a particular issue.
Digital ID makes me immediately think they're surveilling online useage etc. but if that's not what it's being used for I don't see the problem.
We already have national insurance numbers, NHS numbers, passport numbers and driving licence numbers.
Cards are going to be stolen to order to sell to people who can't get one legally.
The contracts for producing the ID cards, writing the IT systems and maintaining the systems will probably all be given to families of Government ministers (obviously not my view).
The IT system budget will be £billions and probably not be delivered within budget or the agreed timescale.
It will be a disaster.
Apart from these minor points, I'm all in favour.
If biometrics are included then surely the threat of forgeries will not be a problem.