Just give me one single number
The main problem I see is not the lack of a physical ID cards, it's the lack of a single number to identify people.
I have:
an NI number
an HMRC Unique Tax Reference number
a council tax number
a NHS number
an EHIC number
a driving license number
a passport number
at some point in my life the DWP will probably give me a number too
All these numbers are different. If I have an accident on holiday somebody needs to translate my EHIC number to my NHS number so the costs can be settled. I can be walking around with various bits of ID, all with different addresses, so I need to ‘prove’ my address with a utility bill. To prevent healthcare fraud somebody would need to crosscheck my NHS number against my NI (and UTR?) to see if I’m actually entitled to NHS treatment.
Why can’t we have one number per person, like all developed (and even many developing) countries? It would reduce so many cases of fraud (both defrauding the taxman/NHS/DVLA but also people applying for credit in someone else’s name etc.)
Of course, it would be good if we could learn from the mistakes and best practices that other countries have produced. So, don’t do it like the Americans where the Social Security Number is not a form of identification but a form of authentication so anyone who gets hold of your SSN can defraud you. Ideally the number would be something that you could safely make public with it doing you any harm, a bit like having a guaranteed unique combination of first and last name.
This would solve many of the issues this paper argues for without any of the “papers please” fears.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
