ID Card cost will hit the poorest hardest

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 16th Oct 2005

Blair's ID Card - Expensive, Bureaucratic, Innefective and an attack on civil liberties

Northgate Lib Dem Councillor Gordon Seekings has congratulated Lib Dem MP Mark Oaten MP for his comments attacking the proposed cost of £30 for an ID card for residents if they do not have a passport. Gordon said "Mark was quite correct in attacking the government. The £30 charge is ridiculous - and this is especially so when you consider that it's not going to do anything other than make it a criminal offence to walk down the road without one."

Mark Oaten commenting on the proposed ID card charges said "The compulsory £30 cost will prove too much for many. The elderly and the poorest in society may be barred from essential services, such as health care, if they can't afford the fee."

Mark Oaten went on to say "Only about 20% of the population will want to apply for a stand alone ID card, leaving the rest of the population to still pay over £90 for a combined ID card and passport. In addition we will all be paying through our taxes for the cost of implementing this scheme."

"The Government have yet to make a compelling argument for why we need ID cards, and why the public should believe that the cost of the scheme won't spiral out of control."