Labour Conference: ID cards may be extended to children, says Home Office
Ravi Chandiramani
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The government's controversial national ID card scheme could be extended to children as young as 14, according to Home Office minister Meg Hillier.
The government’s controversial national ID card scheme could be extended to children as young as 14, according to Home Office minister Meg Hillier.
At a ‘No ID, No Sale’ Labour conference fringe event, Hillier said a lower-age limit for the scheme was still up for grabs.
The first cards, which identify UK residents through biometric technology, become available in November to foreign nationals. At the end of next year British citizens will begin to receive cards and from 2010 they become available to 16 and 17-year-olds on a voluntary basis.
Hillier said ministerial working groups are consulting with young people and youth groups about extending the scheme to under-16s. She cited Hungary as an example where it is normal for 14 year-olds to carry ID cards.
She said a lower age limit would help prevent under-age sales: We have problems with under-age alcohol use and we have to work better to protect children from the damage this does.
But Andrew Chevis, chief executive of Citizen Card, the voluntary proof-of age scheme that has 1.8m cards in circulation, warned against extending the scheme to children because of the extra burden on shop vendors. The retailer would then have to calculate the age of birth in order to sell certain goods, which is an extra task,
Meanwhile representing the smoking lobby, Chris Ogden, director of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, said it took no issue with the recent raising of the smoking age from 16 to 18. He added: All our members are committed to youth access prevention. We don’t want youngsters to smoke and nor do we seek to attract them in any way.