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Identity Cards Bill

My Lords, Amendment No. 9 would include the number and details of any ID card issued to an individual by another nation under the list of registrable facts under Clause 1(5). The noble Baroness, Lady Seccombe, has, I think, half-anticipated our response. Simply, the amendment is unnecessary, as that information may already be recorded on the register. Clause 1(5)(g) lists among the registrable facts,"““information about numbers allocated to him for identification purposes and about the documents to which they relate””." The corresponding parts of Schedule 1 are: paragraph 4(1)(h), which allows the recording in an individual’s entry of,"““the number of any identity card issued to him by the authorities of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom””;" paragraph 4(1)(m), which provides for the recording of,"““the date of expiry or period of validity of a document the number of which is recorded by virtue of this paragraph””;" and paragraph 7(a) of Schedule 1. Noble Lords made points about visitors. It is an expectation and requirement that those coming to this country will have to have valid travel documents. Short-term visitors—those staying here for less than three months—will not be obliged to have an identity card, whether from the EU, other countries or, indeed, British citizens living abroad. They will not be required to register unless and until they are resident for three months. After that time, however, as we carefully explained in Committee, it will be a requirement to register, so a document will exist for them. I think that answers the points, and I am happy that the noble Baroness has moved this amendment so that we could give some further explanation.