ID Cards To Be Coerced Onto Young

Following on from my previous post about ID Cards being forced onto youngsters who want to open bank accounts - and I would heartily recommend against it, but perhaps that's just me - there has been another leaked document (this time from the Passport Agency) suggesting that anyone applying for a first driving licence (so the young again, then) would benefit from an ID Card too.

The IPS (Identity & Passport Service) said "There are advantages to designation of documents associated with particular target groups, e.g. young people who may be applying for their first driving licence" says the document. But "universal compulsion should not be used unless absolutely necessary."

A recent National Audit Office report into use of IT by the UK vehicle licensing agencies suggests how this might happen. It found that 90 per cent of people applying for a provisional licence were unable to complete the transaction online.

The main reason was that most applicants didn't have the new format digital passport. The alternative is that the (old style) passport needs to sent off for checking, or ID checked via the post office's check and send service.

If the Government decided to abandon the Post Office route, citing security concerns or some other nonsense, then any new drivers would essentially be forced into having the new style passport, complete with ID Card, before getting their licence.

As mentioned previously and repeatedly, this Government seems insistent on introducing the ID Card by stealth and without going through proper Parliamentary scrutiny. If they are so sure of the ID Card's merits, then why are they not putting the Bill to Parliament for an open vote?