SCOTTISH Government plans to create an ID database came in for sustained criticism during a debate at Holyrood yesterday, with opponents branding the proposal “a precursor to an ID card”.
The government wants to expand the NHS register to cover all residents and share access with about 120 public bodies, including tax authorities.
The Liberal Democrats said the proposals could leave people’s personal information at risk of being searched, profiled and mined, while the Conservatives accused the SNP administration of being “overly intrusive”.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney insisted the expansion of the use of the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) was the most secure and accurate way of identifying those eligible to pay the new Scottish rate of income tax.
Failure to identify even just one per cent of those who should be paying the new rate of tax, to be introduced in April, would cost the public purse tens of millions, he said.
The NHSCR is an electronic database held and maintained by National Records of Scotland (NRS). It holds the basic demographic details of everyone who is born, who has died, or is – or has been – on a GP’s list in Scotland.
Each individual in the NHSCR is given a unique citizen reference number. At present, the NHSCR holds address information for approximately 30 per cent of the population, when individuals have consented to their local authority sharing this information with NRS.
NRS also has access to postcode information provided by health boards, but it is not currently permitted to hold this information in the NHSCR.
The government wants this additional postcode data to be added to the register and shared with other public bodies.
It says the measure will help authenticate the identity of individuals when they use public services, helping to prevent fraud and identity theft.
It will also help identify those who will be eligible to pay the new Scottish rate of income tax, cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion.
The UK Information Commissioner has said plans for a Scotland-wide ID database poses a risk to personal privacy and civil liberty.
Campaigners the Open Rights Group (ORG) said the proposals “threaten the privacy of the Scottish public”.
“We hope after today’s debate, the Scottish Government will take these concerns on board, reconsider its plans and find more privacy-friendly ways to share data and improve access to online services,” said ORG executive director Jim Killock.
Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “The proposal has the potential to cover 120 organisations across the public sector.
“This matters because the current diffuse storage of information has an inbuilt protection from crime and misuse that would be lost with one super database shared across the public sector.
“We know the problem with putting all your eggs in the one basket or putting all your savings in the one bank or business. We should be cautious when the government asks us to do the same now.”
Rennie also took issue with the idea of a unique citizen reference number. “To allow all organisations to share that number means we move from having a series of numbers to one single, universal number,” he said.
“It leaves open the possibility that information can be searched, profiled and mined.”
He added: “The current system operates on an opt-in basis, whereas this new approach means everyone’s address will automatically be included ... so there will be no consent required for your full details to appear on this universal database.”
The Scottish Conservatives said the plans to share patient information with more than 100 public bodies “prove the SNP thinks the state knows best”.
“Since becoming a majority government, the SNP’s social policy has become increasingly statist. This is the same government which has introduced a deeply unpopular Named Person policy, which gives a state guardian to every child up to the age of 18," said Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith.
“These new proposals for the NHS central register further the belief that the state, rather than the individual, knows what is best.”
Scottish Labour Public Health spokesperson Dr Richard Simpson said the proposal to use registration data obtained for NHS purposes to identify taxpayers would "horrify Scots”.
“Data collected for one purpose should not be used for another except with express and informed consent of the citizen or to prevent criminality or in a lifesaving emergency situation,” he added.
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