British 'Favour ID Cards'
Eight in 10 British people (80%) are in favour of a national identity card (ID) scheme, according to new research by MORI. The research, commissioned by Detica, a specialist IT consultancy, also show:
Eight in 10 British people (80%) are in favour of a national identity card (ID) scheme, according to new research by MORI. The research, commissioned by Detica, a specialist IT consultancy, also show:
- Three in four (74%) are either not very or not at all concerned that the introduction of cards could have a negative impact on their civil liberties
- More than eight in 10 (83%) say they would be happy to carry the card at all times
When asked to identify the most important potential benefits of an ID card scheme, the top five reasons selected are:
- Stopping people applying for services/goods/money fraudulently in your name (78%)
- Carrying important medical information around with you, such as blood types, allergies (77%)
- Stopping people claiming benefits to which they are not entitled (77%)
- Making it easy to prove who you are, for example if registering with a new doctor (75%)
- Preventing illegal immigration (71%)
The survey highlights two of the potential challenges to be overcome in implementing a scheme. Nearly half (48%) would not want to pay anything for their card (it has been proposed that this would be case, as with driving licences and passports), while nearly six in 10 (58%) are either not very or not at all confident that the government will be able to introduce the scheme smoothly.
When asked how they would prefer a card to identify them, more 'traditional' methods are most popular -- a photo (54%) and fingerprints (52%) -- but a substantial minority also select more 'innovative' technologies -- an iris (eye) scan (42%) and DNA details (35%) to be stored on the card.
Technical details
MORI interviewed a sample of 1,000 adults aged 16+, across Great Britain, between 18-23 March 2004. Interviews were conducted via a telephone omnibus. All data have been weighted to the known profile of the British population.
Topline Results
- MORI interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults, aged 16+ between 18th and 23rd March 2004.
- Interviews were conducted by telephone using Random Digit Dialling. No incentives were offered to respondents.
- Data have been weighted to match the known population profile.
- Where figures do not sum to 100 per cent, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple codes or the exclusion of 'Don't know'.
- * represents a figure greater than zero but less than 0.5%.
- Base is all respondents (1,000) unless otherwise indicated.
Q1 How much, if anything, do you know about the Government's proposals to introduce a national identity card scheme for all UK citizens?
| % | |
|---|---|
| A great deal | 5 |
| A fair amount | 22 |
| Just a little | 39 |
| Heard of it, but know nothing about it | 28 |
| Never heard of it | 6 |
| Don't know | * |
Let me tell you a little bit about it. The Government is planning to bring in a national identity card scheme so that every person in the UK is uniquely identifiable. Current proposals are to start issuing cards in 2007/08. The Government says that cards will be phased in, with cards issued to people as and when other documents are issued such as new or replacement driving licences or passports.
Q2 To what extent, if at all, are you in favour of or opposed to a national identity card scheme?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Strongly in favour | 50 |
| Moderately in favour | 30 |
| Neither in favour nor opposed | 8 |
| Moderately opposed | 5 |
| Strongly opposed | 6 |
| Don't know | 1 |
Q3a For what reasons are you in favour of a national identity card scheme?Base: 805
| % | |
|---|---|
| Preventing illegal immigration | 33 |
| Easier to detect and arrest criminals | 21 |
| Making it easy to prove who you are, for example if registering with a new doctor, applying for a credit card or joining a new video shop | 20 |
| Stopping people applying for services/goods/money fraudulently in your name | 18 |
| Having one card to act as ID, passport and driving licence | 17 |
| Preventing terrorism | 16 |
| Stopping people claiming benefits to which they are not entitled | 12 |
| Being able to prove your age | 10 |
| Preventing black-market working | 6 |
| Reducing the time spent at immigration control at airports, ports etc | 5 |
| Carrying important medical information around with you, such as blood type, allergies, etc, in case you are involved in an accident | 4 |
| If you have nothing to hide there shouldn't be a problem | 3 |
| Would be easier to identify people in general | 3 |
| Good for general security reasons | 2 |
| Good/Helpful idea | 1 |
| Already works effectively in other countries | 1 |
| Keeping track of people | 1 |
| Other | 4 |
Q3b For what reasons, if any, are you opposed to a national identity card scheme?Base: 103
| % | |
|---|---|
| Infringes my personal freedom | 40 |
| It would be the start of a police state / Big Brother | 26 |
| Breaches my human rights | 23 |
| It would not work | 19 |
| I would be concerned about my personal data being used without my permission | 16 |
| It would be too expensive | 10 |
| I do not trust the Government | 8 |
| It would discriminate unfairly against non-citizens | 6 |
| Open to abuse/misuse | 4 |
| It is undemocratic/ unconstitutional | 4 |
| It is un-British | 3 |
| Other | 10 |
| Don't know | 10 |
Q4 Which of the following, if any, would you consider to be important potential benefits of a national identity card scheme?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Stopping people applying for services/goods/money fraudulently in your name | 78 |
| Stopping people claiming benefits to which they are not entitled | 77 |
| Carrying important medical information around with you, such as blood type, allergies, etc, in case you are involved in an accident | 77 |
| Making it easy to prove who you are, for example if registering with a new doctor, applying for a credit card or joining a new video shop | 75 |
| Preventing illegal immigration | 71 |
| Easier to detect and arrest criminals | 69 |
| Having one card to act as ID, passport and driving licence | 68 |
| Being able to prove your age | 68 |
| Preventing terrorism | 66 |
| Preventing black-market working | 66 |
| Reducing the time spent at immigration control at airports, ports etc | 62 |
| None | 1 |
| Don't know | 1 |
Q5 How concerned, if at all, are you that the introduction of identity cards could have a negative impact on your civil liberties, by which we mean your personal freedom?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very concerned | 9 |
| Fairly concerned | 15 |
| Not very concerned | 26 |
| Not at all concerned | 47 |
| Don't know | 2 |
Q6 Identity cards could contain a lot of personal information about you. How confident are you that the Government can be trusted to hold all this information securely?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very confident | 10 |
| Fairly confident | 47 |
| Not very confident | 27 |
| Not at all confident | 14 |
| Don't know | 2 |
Q7 And how confident, if at all, are you that the Government will be able to introduce identity cards smoothly?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very confident | 5 |
| Fairly confident | 34 |
| Not very confident | 41 |
| Not at all confident | 17 |
| Don't know | 3 |
Q8 How, if at all, would you prefer a national identity card to identify you?
| % | |
|---|---|
| A simple photo of you printed on the card | 54 |
| A fingerprint stored on the card | 52 |
| An iris (eye) scan stored on the card | 42 |
| DNA details stored on the card | 35 |
| None of the above | 2 |
| Don't know | 2 |
Q9 How happy, if at all, would you be to carry your card with you at all times?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very happy | 53 |
| Fairly happy | 30 |
| Not very happy | 10 |
| Not at all happy | 7 |
| Don't know | * |
Q10 In which, if any, of the following ways should the police be allowed to compel you to prove your identity?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Give you a week to show your identity card at a police station, much like a driving licence | 60 |
| Ask you to produce your card on the spot | 44 |
| Not have the right to demand to see your ID card at all | 8 |
| Other | 2 |
| None of the above | 1 |
| Don't know | 1 |
Q11 The Government is thinking of making the public pay for their ID cards much as we already do for passports and driving licences. How much, if anything, would you be prepared to pay for a national identity card?
| % | |
|---|---|
| More than 163100 (specify how much more) | 1 |
| More than 16375 up to 163100 | 1 |
| More than 16350 up to 16375 | 4 |
| More than 16325 up to 16350 | 14 |
| Up to 16325 | 31 |
| Nothing, I would not want to pay anything | 48 |
| Don't know | 1 |
