Key points from the old thread on this
There was previously a large thread about ID cards on here which being an old technophobe I can't find at the mo.
However, to condense numerous pages into a brief summary (from memory), here are some of the important bits:
As a uk national working airside you will be required to buy an id card.
If you are not a uk national working airside you will not.
You are not legally obliged to show your National id card to anyone.
If you do not have a valid id card, the Govt have issued instructions that Disclosure Scotland will not provide a CRB check response that will enable you to obtain an airside pass. You will therefore lose your right to work airside.
If you do not advise the authorities of changes in personal circumstance/ that the card is lost etc you will face a hefty fine.
BALPA are making a stand against the forced purchase of id cards by pilots.
Various other unions have made noises against the forcing of ID cards onto its employees, however, as the unions are closely linked to the Labour government, there is concern that when the chips are down, the unions will not mount a credible challenge to Labour (this was a comment that was made by grass roots people within those unions).
There are issues over data security.
There are issues over what exactly the Government wants all the data for (your data can be linked to such things as loyalty card spending, your childrens Contact Point data, etc, etc).
There are issues about poor legislation which in theory would not prevent the outsourcing of database maintainance abroad in future. (The id card scheme is run by a private company -although a mojor shareholder is a government minister, I understand- so not a 100%civil service function).
The technology used within id cards is open to cloning (it has already been done) and will potentially do little to reduce the risk of identity theft.
The Government have not shown how aviation security will be improved by the scheme.
The issues of civil liberties, ethics, trust and acceptance by apathy I will leave you to decide for yourselves.
However, once we have them, there will be no getting rid of them.....
There were a number of very good posts on the old thread, which I haven't done justice to here, so apologies to any of you that I've unintentionally misquoted.
oap