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Identity Cards Bill

My Lords, perhaps I may be ““telegraphic””—to borrow a word that is quite often by the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland—and say to the noble Earl that I understand his concerns, but they are not merited. I understand that he is saying that the legislation may restrict our taking advantage of the technological advancements that are now in being or are anticipated in the next two or three years and prohibit us availing ourselves of the technology which enables us to encrypt data at both ends. In short, we do not believe that that is so. The way in which the Bill is currently drawn will enable us to take advantage of those technological developments and hold encrypted data. I can therefore assure the noble Earl that when a person seeks to update his details online, he will not be accessing the register directly. With regard to security of PIN, we are investigating the use of the new technology—to which the noble Earl referred—which utilises PKI infrastructures to ensure that remote transactions can be conducted more securely. For example, a change in address can be held in the system to enable those who will then put that information into the register to deal with it. There will be no direct access. The breach about which the noble Earl was concerned could not take place in that way. Bearing in mind that it is now a quarter to 10, I could delight the House with a more detailed exposition of that technical data.