ID cards so that there is a remedy against misuse of data
Agree with Nigel-11 "Simple" above, that an ID card could be data free.
But that's not going to happen, when linking of databases already takes place.
I believe that the most valuable purpose of creating an ID database is so that it has a statutory basis, and incorporates remedies against misuse. I should be able to inspect a record of who has accessed my data, through an ID database.
We currently have the situation, that the jobsworths with access to databases in government, local government, some statutory bodies and NGOs, link their database access through use of credit reference databases, to form the overall link to the other databases that they have access to, with no record that I can inspect for misuse. Credit Reference agencies were given statutory permission to use the Electoral Register without any remedies against them (by Yvette Cooper as the relevant Minister).
At the simplest level, I have never authorised a credit reference agency to keep a record, and my credit cards were issued before Experian et all were brought into existence. But if there is fraudulent application for credit, that a credit reference agency authorises without my knowledge, it is my credit standing that is detrimentally affected and I have no remedy against the credit reference agency.
The Government, through the Passport Service, Customs and Revenue, DWP, Driving Licence Agency, NHS database etc., is permitting gratuitous access to personal data, without effective remedies that a Statutory Identity Card should give. Few culprits are caught and sanctioned.
I want remedies that the Data Protection Act does not provide and an Identity Card should, so the reason for scrapping the ID scheme appears to be so that Civil Servants et all are not made accountable.