Identity Documents Bill 2010
Encyclopedia
The Identity Documents Act 2010 (c. 40) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which reverses the introduction of identity cards and requires the destruction of the information held on the National Identity Register.
As a bill, it was presented to the House of Commons by Home Secretary Theresa May
on 26 May 2010, making it the first government bill to be introduced to the 55th Parliament of the United Kingdom by the Cameron Ministry
.
on 5 October 2010 and received its second reading on 18 October 2010 and successfully passed through a Committee of the Whole House without amendment. At report stage on 17 November 2010, however, peers accepted a Labour
amendment to pay compensation to people who had already paid the charge to purchase an ID Card. The amendment remained in place until the bill returned to the House of Commons, where it was rejected by the Speaker as it imposed an additional charge on the public purse not authorised by the Commons, which holds financial supremacy over the House of Lords. The Lords accepted the Commons disagreement to their amendment, and the bill received Royal Assent on 21 December 2010.
Although the Act ends the validity of ID cards as travel documents
, no action will be taken to withdraw the National Identity Cards already issued.
Toni Weller, senior lecturer in history at De Montfort University
and an honorary fellow at City University, London
has identified the Act as "a return to an older, nineteenth-century, ideology of decentralised information control."
As a bill, it was presented to the House of Commons by Home Secretary Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
on 26 May 2010, making it the first government bill to be introduced to the 55th Parliament of the United Kingdom by the Cameron Ministry
Cameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
.
Parliamentary passage
The government initially aimed to have the bill passed into law by August 2010, but the bill did not make sufficient progress to achieve this. The bill passed the House of Commons on 15 September 2010, and was unopposed by the Opposition. It was introduced to the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 5 October 2010 and received its second reading on 18 October 2010 and successfully passed through a Committee of the Whole House without amendment. At report stage on 17 November 2010, however, peers accepted a Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
amendment to pay compensation to people who had already paid the charge to purchase an ID Card. The amendment remained in place until the bill returned to the House of Commons, where it was rejected by the Speaker as it imposed an additional charge on the public purse not authorised by the Commons, which holds financial supremacy over the House of Lords. The Lords accepted the Commons disagreement to their amendment, and the bill received Royal Assent on 21 December 2010.
Provisions
The Act repeals the Identity Cards Act 2006 and requires the destruction of the information held on the National Identity Register. It legislates to:- Cancel all existing ID cards within one month of Royal Assent
- Remove the statutory requirement to issue ID Cards
- Cancel the National Identity Register
- Require the destruction of all data held on the Register within one month of Royal Assent
- Close the Office of the Identity CommissionerIdentity CommissionerThe Identity Commissioner is an independent regulator in the United Kingdom appointed under the Identity Cards Act 2006 based in London....
- Re-enact some criminal offences (possession or use of false identity documents) and certain other measures contained in the Identity Cards Act 2006
- Give no refunds to existing cardholders
Although the Act ends the validity of ID cards as travel documents
British passport
British passports may be issued to people holding any of the various forms of British nationality, and are used as evidence of the bearer's nationality and immigration status within the United Kingdom or the issuing state/territory.-Issuing:...
, no action will be taken to withdraw the National Identity Cards already issued.
Toni Weller, senior lecturer in history at De Montfort University
De Montfort University
De Montfort University is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens...
and an honorary fellow at City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
has identified the Act as "a return to an older, nineteenth-century, ideology of decentralised information control."
External links
- Identity Documents Bill – official page on UK Parliament website