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Identity Cards Bill

moved Amendment No. 120:"Page 38, line 10, leave out paragraph (e) and insert—" ““(e)   the acceptance or acknowledgment of the conduct of an individual as compliance by that individual with a requirement imposed on him by or under an enactment, or the receipt of any notification or information provided by an individual for the purpose of complying with such a requirement.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, the amendment is intended to respond to concerns about the precise drafting of the Bill that were raised at an earlier stage. I recall in particular that the noble Lord, Lord Phillips, who is at the moment not in his seat, argued at Second Reading that the definition of public services was too wide. We have considered the matter and we are persuaded that the existing wording of paragraph (e) in Clause 43(2), the subsection that defines public services, is potentially wider than we had intended. The current wording in paragraph (e) is,"““treating an individual as having complied with a requirement imposed on him by or under any enactment””." We accept that that definition could be interpreted more widely than we had intended and might be read as deeming someone to have complied with a legal requirement when he has not in fact done so. In these cases we need to be able to deal with where, for example, it would be a requirement for individuals to attend a public office to identify themselves. In such circumstances the service could be much wider than what might easily be regarded as a provisional service; for example, an offender who has to report to a police station as a condition of bail or as a condition imposed on certain sex offenders. Once identity cards are introduced, and especially when, as we intend, they become compulsory, reporting in such circumstances would seem a clear instance of when an individual could expect to be asked to produce an ID card. The new form of words in Amendment No. 120 is longer, but it is more precise and less open-ended than the existing wording. The main point is that it is now sufficient for the purpose of ensuring that the definition of ““public service”” covers the circumstances where reporting conditions have been imposed. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to. Clause 45 [Short title, repeals, commencement, transitory provision and extent]: