Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration her Department has given to the use of a national identity card system for determining an individual's immigration status. [184300]

Mr Harper, Minister of State for Immigration [holding answer 24 January 2014]: The Government has no plans to introduce an identity card system for British citizens. As part of our commitment to restore personal freedoms and curtail unnecessary intrusion by the state into people's personal lives, we abolished the identity cards scheme in 2010 and destroyed the National Identity Register, which saved the taxpayer £86 million.

However, the Biometric Residence Permit is issued to non-EEA nationals staying in the UK for more than six months. These provide evidence of the holders' immigration status in the UK.

| Hansard