Mr Robert Sharp

Email: [FOI #30845 email]

Reference: FOICR 14408/10

Date: 19 April 2010

Dear Mr Sharp

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your e-mail of 16 March 2010, in which you ask for information on Meg Hillier's speech of 15 March to the Social Market Foundation. Your request has been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I am able to disclose the information set out in the enclosed Annex.

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 FOICR 14408/10.

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

You asked:-

On 15th March, the Minister for Identity, Meg Hillier MP, gave a

speech to the Social Market Foundation, "Building a National Identity Service for All."

During the speech, the Minister stated that many people in the UK, usually in the poorest socio-economic groups, do not have any form

of ID (e.g. passports, ID cards, driving licence).

I would be grateful if you would supply the figures on which these statements are based?

1. How many people in the UK have been issued no form of identification by the state?

IPS has commissioned Proof of Identity Research via the Central office of Information. The research was produced in April 2008 and is attached as a powerpoint document.

The Research estimates that 7% of adults do not have identification. This equates to approximately 3.5 million people. This is a calculation based on ONS population estimates from 2007 (latest data on their website)

2. Of these figures, how many do not have a bank account?

IPS does not hold data that shows the correlation between the number of citizens who own an ID document to those who do or do not have a bank account.

Meg Hillier's speech mentioned that problems in identity assurance can be a barrier to individuals getting access to goods and services, including bank accounts.  This has been confirmed to IPS by financial institutions although we hold no statistics that demonstrate the extent of the correlation.

 3. Is there there any demographic data attached to these figures/estimates? For those without any form of identification, I would be grateful to know proportions by ethnicity, socio-economic group, region, gender, and age.

I assume the Home Office/IPS will use estimates for many of these

figures. Please supply the calculations and/or polling evidence on

which these estimates are based.

The research attached and mentioned above also contains a breakdown of these groups by ethnicity, socio-economic group, gender and age (but not by region).

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.

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Headquarters

Parliamentary & Correspondence Management Team

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London

SW1P 4DF

Tel (020) 7035 8889

Fax (0870) 336 9175

Email [Identity & Passport Service request email]

Web www.ips.gov.uk