A debate with young people on identity cards has been kick started by the Home Secretary as part of preparations for offering cards to over-16s from 2010.

A specially designed website has been launched to discuss the national identity scheme with young people. The MyLifeMyId.org site, which aims to explore young people’s views on proving identity and using identity cards and will go towards helping to produce a card which best suits their needs.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

“We see identity cards delivering real benefits to young people which is why their opinions on the cards and how they might use them are so important. We want as many young people as possible to sign up for the scheme by making it as useful as possible.

“When introduced from 2010 identity cards will make it easier for young people to prove who they are whether opening a bank account, enrolling at college or proving whether they are entitled to get into pubs and clubs.

“Identity cards containing fingerprints will give young people greater assurance against identity theft while helping fight illegal working, immigration abuse and the link between multiple identities and serious crimes like terrorism.”

The website will ask young people to give their views on a variety of subjects including: when they are asked to prove their identity; whether they worry about identity theft; whether they have posted personal details on social networking sites; and how much they trust the Government with their data.

The online survey will also be asking young people about proving their age, which will complement findings published by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) today looking at attitudes towards existing proofs of age. The findings show:

* 63 per cent support the idea of a nationally recognised form of identity to prove age;

* four out of five young people support being asked for identity when buying age restricted goods; and

* half of young people currently prefer to use driving licences to prove their age (with 62 per cent saying it is because they are easiest to carry and 57 per cent because they are nationally recognised).

The first identity cards will be issued to foreign nationals in November followed by identity cards for workers in sensitive roles and locations like airports next year.

Voluntary identity cards will be offered to young people from 2010 and in 2011/12 large numbers of the British public will be able to chose to sign up for the scheme.

By using facial and fingerprint checks the National Identity Scheme will give us a secure way of linking people to their own true identity. This link will prevent people enrolling multiple identities and will allow individuals, business, and the state to prove identity more securely, conveniently and efficiently while protecting personal information from abuse.