Llinos Medi
Main Page: Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Môn)Department Debates - View all Llinos Medi's debates with the Cabinet Office
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Llinos Medi (Ynys Môn) (PC)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. More than 3 million people—a figure similar to the population of Wales—have signed this petition opposing the Government’s plan to introduce a mandatory digital ID scheme, including nearly 3,500 of my constituents.
My constituents have frequently raised valid concerns about the introduction of this type of scheme. One of those concerns is about data privacy, because a large database of private and sensitive information could be vulnerable to data breaches, hacking and other criminal activity. The hacking of the Legal Aid Agency is a recent example.
Increased state surveillance is another concern. Constituents are worried about the creation of detailed, individual profiles and about the sharing of information across state services. Digital exclusion is also a concern, especially in a rural constituency such as mine. Nobody should be unfairly disadvantaged by the state due to being without access to digital technology or the means to navigate it.
What I hear most, however, is that people are struggling to heat their homes and put food on their tables. None the less, the Government want to spend billions on identification schemes.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
When the last ID card scheme was cancelled by the Liberal Democrats in coalition in 2010, it had already cost £4.6 billion. Does the hon. Member share my view that the £1.8 billion cost associated with digital IDs could be much better spent?
Llinos Medi
I totally agree. I was previously the leader of a local authority, so I know that our public services are on their knees after 14 years of austerity. This money needs to go back into public services, instead of a digital ID scheme, and serve the people of this country.
The scheme was first framed as a way of combating illegal working, so it would apply only to workers. Then it was framed as a scheme to streamline services and potentially be applicable to people as young as 13. Will the Government set out what problem the digital ID will actually solve? As we have heard in this debate, nobody seems to know.
Given that the Government cannot provide a convincing argument for a costly, intrusive and unpopular scheme, they would do well to listen to the millions of people who have made their views known and focus instead on the real issues that matter to people. Plaid Cymru opposes the proposal to introduce digital ID.