ID cards at long last

96% of people in the UK own a smartphone with that dropping to:67% for over 65’s - unlikely most of them will need to prove they are legal for work.
Stats from USwitch.

MaizieD

Nope. I’m still dead against the idea of ID ‘cards’, ‘digital’ even more so. The ultimate surveillance device.. and vulnerable to cyber attack.

With the recent experiences of the Co-op and M &S, and JLR likely to be unable to restart production for months I don’t understand why more people aren’t saying ‘whoa, just hold on a minute…’

I’m not arguing this one in the face of majority approval. There are times when I feel quite glad that that I won’t be around for many years longer..

Your life is already on your smartphone you and be tracked and hacked today it would just add a more accessible ID.

My concern is the NHS that is very computer dependant if that was ever hacked it would be a real catastrophe.

There's a requirement to check that people are allowed to work here already.
I don't see any difference in terms of validity.

I'm for it except adding my bank details

escaped

A phone would be more secure though, wouldn't it? No one can steal my id without scanning my fingerprint.

Errrrm......you personally (ie your body) will be much more secure if there's no question of scanning your fingerprint.

Yep...there's definitely a noticeable number of people who are out there and would think "Not a problem - if I've got a finger from her...then I can find a way to use it to get a fingerprint" (at least for a few days iyswim). You've just identified that you're probably a nice person - and nice people don't think just what lengths someone else might go to.....

For me it's not going to work to stop illegal immigrants,the first to be issued them will be the born and bred here,those coming by boat ,by all accounts,have no ID at all .
Everything we do on our phones etc is watched anyway,look at home insurance,go onto Facebook and there's an advert for it..so will it not be easily accessible for hackers,.

Unknowingly I should add, I'm not a complete idiot.

It must be just me then who has been known, on occasion, to have left the house with a phone that's about to run out of battery? If we're to have them then I would like belt and braces of a physical card too.

15SueDonim

I’ve just read that initially, it’ll be for working age people only. Part of an effort to clamp down on black economy jobs.

The unscrupulous employers of the black economy will continue to employ illegal workers so they will just ignore the I.D. check. For me it's a No to Digital I.D,s so I must be a tin hatter and proud of it. The difference between those of us being labelled as conspiracy idiots and those with heads in the sand is about 6 months.

Unscrupulous employers who currently use

The thing is - it is the future and we have to go with it if it happens.

Maybe the government should then subsidise the purchase of a smart phone for pensioners. I'm serious, we can't just shelve the whole thing for a few people. £65 for a samsung would do it. A passport costs £107 by post, to put things in perspective.

New smartphones are expensive and reconditioned old ones might not have all the features necessary. Then there's the question of absent or unreliable wifi, and also a phone can be stolen or lost or broken. It's also unfair to burden people who are not tech-savvy with the bother of learning to use a smartphone. Has the government never heard of the digital divide or doesn't it care?

There will be many who agree with you Maizie, but who don't have the energy to argue with the people who label those who disagree as criminal or tin hatters.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I had to laugh. My cousin just messaged me “so rubber boats of unknowns turn up on the shores and as a taxpayer suddenly I'm the problem? Foxtrot Oscar.”

He or she must be cut from the same cloth as yourself then.

I'm a "tin hatter" on this one.
It's a no from me.

How much is it going to cost? We don’t even have joined up patient notes from one hospital area to another on the NHS. Also I don’t see how it will stop illegal migrants. If anything it will make them more prone to join the job black market where they will be prone to exploitation by unscrupulous employers.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I think Tony Blair is going to make a lot of money from this, or so I’ve read.

That alone makes me not want ID cards.

Mt61

escaped

A phone would be more secure though, wouldn't it? No one can steal my id without scanning my fingerprint.

No. Not if some thieving scumbag on a bike takes it off you.

Oh yes! Unless they chop my thumb off at the same time, they won't get access to my details on my phone!!

REKA

It will take years. What will happen to the many, mainly elderly, who doubt have a smart phone? And it will cost billions.

I believe that, as it stands, only people seeking employment would need ID.

What worries me is that it would only be legitimate employers who would bother with ID cards. The vast black economy of drug dealers, people traffickers etc would be unaffected.

It would open new vistas for false IDs, identity theft and all the other ills of online data scams.

escaped

A phone would be more secure though, wouldn't it? No one can steal my id without scanning my fingerprint.

No. Not if some thieving scumbag on a bike takes it off you.

Nope. I’m still dead against the idea of ID ‘cards’, ‘digital’ even more so. The ultimate surveillance device.. and vulnerable to cyber attack.

With the recent experiences of the Co-op and M &S, and JLR likely to be unable to restart production for months I don’t understand why more people aren’t saying ‘whoa, just hold on a minute…’

I’m not arguing this one in the face of majority approval. There are times when I feel quite glad that that I won’t be around for many years longer..

Mollygo

From the horse’s mouth . . .
Cultures Secretary Lisa Nandy says: "So for people who come here and want to work, it will be compulsory to show it.
"For all other UK citizens it will be compulsory to have it, but not to show it.
^"People will be able to choose whether they use it or not, but we think for a lot of people, you know, me included, who spend a lot of time digging out utility bills and National Insurance numbers and copies of passports to prove verification in lots of different ways that this will have a big benefit as well.^

It is, but how many millions is it going to cost the government/taxpayers?

A phone would be more secure though, wouldn't it? No one can steal my id without scanning my fingerprint.

loopyloo

And where are they going to put the people they arrest for not having ID cards?

Oh my, we going to turn into the East Germany😳

Mt61

I already show driver’s license when I go to the post office, 9 out 10 they don’t bother asking for it, as they know me.
Well I for one won’t be lugging a card round with me, or my phone, if I’ve got a pocketless cardi on.

Presumably you would, if you knew that it was likely your ID would be needed eg going to the post office.

Grandmabatty

I have no problem with an identity card being introduced. However I feel insisting that everyone has a smartphone isn't the right way to go about it.

I agree with you on that. There must be the option to have a card with a chip - write to your MP if you feel strongly about it.