Dr Geraint Bevan

Email : [FOI #28570 email]

Reference: FOICR 14019/10

Date: 17 March 2010

Dear Dr Bevan

FREEDOM OF INFOMRATION REQUEST

Thank you for e-mail of 8 February, in which you ask for copies of correspondence to staff about Identity Card applications. Your request has been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I apologise for the delay in replying.

I am able to disclose the information set out in the enclosed Annex which contains five attachments. Also attached to this reply is also one pdf document.

In keeping with the Freedom of Information Act, we assume that all information can be released to the public unless it is exempt. In line with normal practice we are therefore releasing the information which you requested via the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) website.

I hope that this information meets your requirements. I would like to assure you that we have provided you with all relevant information that IPS holds.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months to the address below, quoting reference 14019/10.

Information Access Team

Home Office
Ground Floor, Seacole Building

2 Marsham Street

London SW1P 4DF

e-mail: [email address]

As part of any internal review the Department's handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you would have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Yours sincerely

H Reid

Parliamentary & Correspondence Management Team

ANNEX

    
Staff within the Home Office recently became eligible to apply for national identity cards. I should be grateful if you would provide me with copies of any correspondence sent to staff that either:
    
1) informed them that they could apply for ID cards; or
2) requested that they do so.
    
Obviously, I am interested in general correspondence, rather than personal correspondence about any particular individual's application.

Please see the attached documents :-

1. Word document entitled global 1.

2. Word document entitled global 2.

3. Horizon news archive. Identity Cards launched in Manchester.

4. Horizon news archive. A thousand Identity Cards issued.

5. Horizon news article. Identity Cards for the capital.

1

From: Global E-Mail Service
Sent: 27 November 2009 3:31 PM
Subject: SCS Bulletin 2009-11-27

Friday 27 November 2009

For information

ID cards available to Home Office staff

National identity cards will be available to people who live and work in Greater Manchester from 30 November and are also now available to Headquarters and UK Border Agency staff in Greater London and Greater Manchester, and IPS staff nationwide.

IPS has prepared a video briefing which provides information about the cards and the current public information campaign for its staff.  To help brief internal and external stakeholders, the video briefing is being made available to SCS.  

Please provide your feedback.  We would welcome your thoughts on how we can make this bulletin more useful and relevant to you; email [email address]

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This global email has been forwarded to you via the communication directorate's corporate communication unit         

2

From: Global E-Mail Service
Sent: 30 November 2009 3:01 PM
Subject: HQ Grade 6 and 7 Bulletin 2009-11-30

Monday 30 November 2009

 To know

ID cards available to Home Office staff

National identity cards, which are available to people who live and work in Greater Manchester from today, are also now available to headquarters and UK Border Agency staff in both Greater Manchester and Greater London, and to IPS staff nationwide.

To help grade 7s and grade 6s brief staff and stakeholders on identity cards, IPS has prepared a video briefing which provides information about the cards and the current public information public information campaign.

Please provide your feedback.  We would welcome your thoughts on how we can make this bulletin more useful and relevant to you; email [email address]

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This global email has been forwarded to you via the communication directorate's corporate communication unit  

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Identity cards launched in Manchester

Monday 30 Nov 2009 , Home Office HQ

People living or working in Manchester can enrol for an ID card

Members of the public who live or work in Greater Manchester can enrol for a national identity card from today (Monday). Appointments for members of the public to enrol their fingerprints have started at Identity & Passport Service (IPS) offices in the city centre and at Manchester airport. Benefits of the £30 card include its use as a simple and universal proof of age and identity. Identity cards can also be used in place of a passport to travel around Europe.

`Quick, simple and secure'

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: `The many benefits of the national identity card can now be enjoyed by members of the public in Manchester.

`The first applicants will soon be taking advantage of the voluntary card as a means to prove and protect their identity in a quick, simple and secure way.

`It can be used by young people as a convenient and universal proof of age and as a credit-card-sized alternative to the passport when travelling in Europe.'

Alan Johnson is pictured showing his identity card as he travelled to Brussels for a meeting of European Union ministers on Sunday.

`Universally accepted proof of age'

Identity minister Meg Hillier was in Manchester today to meet staff and promote the new identity card. She said: `Greater Manchester has one of the highest populations of students in Europe.

`With research by the Identity & Passport Service showing that nearly 10 per cent of passports are lost by young people on nights out, and with tough legislation introduced this month to clamp down on underage drinking, it will be more important than ever for young people to have access to a universally accepted proof of age.'

Identity cards will be rolled out across the UK progressively, with citizens in the North West able to apply for a card early next year. There will be full national coverage by 2012.

ID cards available for staff

Home Office headquarters and UK Border Agency staff in Greater London and Greater Manchester, and IPS staff nationwide, can now apply for a voluntary identity card. It costs £30 and will be valid for 10 years from the date of issue.

The application process is straightforward, with an enrolment appointment taking between 15 and 30 minutes. You can get a UK National Identity Service application form by phoning 0300 330 0000 or visiting the Directgov website's identity card section (see the links on the right). You can also make an appointment to enrol at one of the National Identity Service customer centres, either in London (Globe House, Eccleston Square), Manchester city (Portland Street) or Manchester airport.

The Manchester team that issues identity cards is featured in the December/January issue of Inside Track, which is out this Thursday (3 December).

IPS has made a video for its staff that provides information about the cards and the current public information campaign. To watch this video click on the link to the right.

Related Links

External Links

© Crown copyright Terms and conditions

4

A thousand ID cards issued

Wednesday 16 Dec 2009 , Home Office HQ

Identity cards extend across the North West

More than a thousand identity cards have been issued since the scheme kicked off just over two weeks ago.

Richard Gooding, chief executive of London City airport, was the one thousandth British citizen to receive an identity card.

Richard, pictured below with IPS chief executive James Hall, said: `Providing a safe and secure environment to staff working on-site at London City airport is fundamental to our business. The critical workers identity cards will further strengthen the airport's vigorous employment screening measures.'

This milestone coincides with the announcement that identity cards will be available to residents across the North West from January. It follows the successful launch of the service in Greater Manchester.

The £30 identity cards, which are valid for ten years, provide a secure and convenient way to proove identity and can also be used in place of a passport for travel in Europe.

They are designed to keep identities safe by `locking' individuals to a singe identity using fingerprints and facial images.

Bag your ID card

You can also apply for a card if you work at Home Office headquarters or in the UK Border Agency and are based in Greater London or Greater Manchester. Those of you in other locations will be able to apply as the roll-out continues next year.

To request an application form and book your appointment, call 0300 330 0000 or click on the link on the right.

For more news stories, click on news, views and events.

Related Links

External Links

© Crown copyright Terms and conditions

5

Identity cards for the capital

Monday 25 Jan 2010 , Home Office HQ

Young people next in line to benefit

From next month young people in London can apply for a national identity card, it was announced today.

Having a recognised proof of identity will make it easier for 16- to 24-year-olds to buy age-restricted goods such as computer games and DVDs, as well as to show their age when going to the cinema or to a club.

The £30 cards can also be used in place of a passport for travel throughout Europe. This phase of the roll-out follows the successful uptake of cards in Greater Manchester and the north-west.

Identity cards minister Meg Hillier said: `The national identity card will prove an extremely useful tool for young people in London, whether they are opening a bank account, buying age-restricted goods such as computer games or DVDs, entering a nightclub or travelling to Europe.

`These benefits are already being enjoyed by members of the public in Greater Manchester and the north-west, and with tough new legislation being put in place clamping down on underage drinking, it will be more important than ever for young people to have access to a universally accepted proof of age.'

Earlier this month, the UK Border Agency implemented the next stage of the roll out of identity cards for foreign nationals, with skilled workers who extend their stay in the UK being required to apply for an identity card as part of their immigration application. The agency has issued more than 130,000 cards to foreign nationals since the roll-out began in November 2008.

Bag your identity card

You can apply for a national identity card if you work at Home Office headquarters or in the UK Border Agency and are based in Greater London, Greater Manchester or the North West. Those of you in other locations will be able to apply as the roll-out continues next year.

To request an application form and book your appointment, call 0300 330 0000 or click on the link on the right. You can also watch a video about identity cards by clicking the link on the right.

For more news stories, click on news, views and events.

Related Links

External Links

© Crown copyright Terms and conditions

Passport Adviceline: 0300 222 0000 (07.00 - 23.00 seven days a week).

Email us at [Identity & Passport Service request email]. Visit our website at www.ips.gov.uk.

2

Headquarters

Identity and Passport Service

Parliamentary & Correspondence Management Team

4^th Floor, Peel Building

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

Tel (020) 7035 8889

Fax (0870) 336 9175

Email [Identity & Passport Service request email]

Web www.ips.gov.uk