Why so expensive to get ID in the UK? Why no free national identity cards?

Beachcomber372

JadedAngel88 said:

I recently had to return my driving license to DVLA because I'm not allowed to drive due to medication I take.  

I don't have a passport and was stumped for something to prove my id. I have a citizen card. 

https://www.citizencard.com/apply-for-a-uk-id-card-online

It does say they charge £15 but I found a code so it was free. The codes can easily be found online. Apparently NUS or FREEVOTERID will work. 

Citizen card not acceptable as ID for opening bank account or many other things.

BooJewels

From memory, the proposed UK ID card wasn't ever going to be free - I think they cited something like £60 for them.

I had to give in and apply for a passport in the end, as my provisional driving licence was only accepted in some places for the address, but not for ID and I was finding it increasingly difficult to function.  At the time I applied I was an active Attorney for one family member and an executor for another and it became unworkable without one - I even got locked out of my Government Gateway too.  The passport soon paid for itself in saved aggravation.  But I do fully get how the cost would be prohibitive for some - that's why I hadn't had one for a long time.

powerful_Rogue

It was trialled, but very quickly shelved.

Ergates

born_again said:

eskbanker said:

born_again said:

Beachcomber372 said:

My partner and 16,19 and 21 year old sons need ID for opening bank accounts. Proving their identity is very difficult so we've decided to apply for passports for them even though we have no intention of going abroad. All the costs of getting 4 passports is going going to cost about £450 and they will need renewing every 10 years at more cost. How can people on a low income be expected to pay so much just to prove who they are to do basic things like opening a bank account, voting etc.. Why aren't all UK citizens issued a free National Idenity Card?

Driving licence 👍

If you already happen to have learned how to drive then yes, licences are a useful alternative to passports for photo ID, but if OP is looking at this from the perspective of low income people not taking foreign holidays, many won't have been able to afford the fully-loaded cost of acquiring a driving licence, i.e. lessons, etc.

Agree. But can be a cheaper option that a passport.
Mrs has no photo ID but managed to open a account. Took some work, visiting branch & paperwork, but can be done.

Would love a national ID card, given we all get a NI number. Would make life so easy. 

Learning to drive and taking a test is not a cheaper option than getting a passport.

hoc

It is truly bizarre identity cards do no exist in the UK considering all the many schemes and initiatives tax money has been wasted on. The usual answer is not everyone wants them but of course they wouldn't have to be mandatory. The typical advice to get a driving license doesn't apply to many people. Those who want ID cards should be able to have them.

Nebulous2

My recollection is that ID cards were a new labour plan and they ran into significant opposition for a variety of reasons, cost, being compulsory, use of biometric data etc. 

If I remember rightly they were going to cost about as much as a passport. 

The incoming coalition government scrapped them. 

jadex

Don't know why £450 for 4 passports is quoted unless they all apply by paper form and want unnecessary 54-page version. If confirmation of likeness by counter signatory is required then still 34-page passport is cheaper.

Some fin-tech apps (like ZING) accept provisional driving licence which costs £34 and can be obtained without a passport. With those apps you get sort code, account number and debit card.

elsien

Beachcomber372 said:

JadedAngel88 said:

I recently had to return my driving license to DVLA because I'm not allowed to drive due to medication I take.  

I don't have a passport and was stumped for something to prove my id. I have a citizen card. 

https://www.citizencard.com/apply-for-a-uk-id-card-online

It does say they charge £15 but I found a code so it was free. The codes can easily be found online. Apparently NUS or FREEVOTERID will work. 

Citizen card not acceptable as ID for opening bank account or many other things.

You say you need photo ID for many other things other than a bank account.

I can’t remember the last time I used photo ID for any other purpose.

I’m coming to the view you’ve only posted because you think that National identity cards are a good idea regardless of the purpose, not because people are genuinely having issues with their bank account. 

So out of interest, what do you consider? are the multitude of other reasons that photo ID is needed for? 

Beachcomber372

Ergates said:

born_again said:

eskbanker said:

born_again said:

Beachcomber372 said:

My partner and 16,19 and 21 year old sons need ID for opening bank accounts. Proving their identity is very difficult so we've decided to apply for passports for them even though we have no intention of going abroad. All the costs of getting 4 passports is going going to cost about £450 and they will need renewing every 10 years at more cost. How can people on a low income be expected to pay so much just to prove who they are to do basic things like opening a bank account, voting etc.. Why aren't all UK citizens issued a free National Idenity Card?

Driving licence 👍

If you already happen to have learned how to drive then yes, licences are a useful alternative to passports for photo ID, but if OP is looking at this from the perspective of low income people not taking foreign holidays, many won't have been able to afford the fully-loaded cost of acquiring a driving licence, i.e. lessons, etc.

Agree. But can be a cheaper option that a passport.
Mrs has no photo ID but managed to open a account. Took some work, visiting branch & paperwork, but can be done.

Would love a national ID card, given we all get a NI number. Would make life so easy. 

Learning to drive and taking a test is not a cheaper option than getting a passport.

Absolutely plus the time involved also you have to actually pass the test and for people with disabilities may not be an option at all.

DullGreyGuy

Ergates said:

born_again said:

eskbanker said:

born_again said:

Beachcomber372 said:

My partner and 16,19 and 21 year old sons need ID for opening bank accounts. Proving their identity is very difficult so we've decided to apply for passports for them even though we have no intention of going abroad. All the costs of getting 4 passports is going going to cost about £450 and they will need renewing every 10 years at more cost. How can people on a low income be expected to pay so much just to prove who they are to do basic things like opening a bank account, voting etc.. Why aren't all UK citizens issued a free National Idenity Card?

Driving licence 👍

If you already happen to have learned how to drive then yes, licences are a useful alternative to passports for photo ID, but if OP is looking at this from the perspective of low income people not taking foreign holidays, many won't have been able to afford the fully-loaded cost of acquiring a driving licence, i.e. lessons, etc.

Agree. But can be a cheaper option that a passport.
Mrs has no photo ID but managed to open a account. Took some work, visiting branch & paperwork, but can be done.

Would love a national ID card, given we all get a NI number. Would make life so easy. 

Learning to drive and taking a test is not a cheaper option than getting a passport.

Who said anything about learning to drive or taking a test @ergates? There is no legal obligation to actually learn to drive when you get a provisional driving license. 

As has already been shown, HSBC at least and likely other banks too accept the provisional driving license as proof of ID.