We have sent in a Freedom of Information Act request to the Office for National Statistics regarding the Citizen Information Project
There is allegedly meant to be some sort of report about this massive database system and how it does or does not interact with or duplicate some or all of the National Identity Register
We have been told through confidential channels that there might be some very worried people in the ONS, who fear that the Citizen Information Project, especially if it is linked to the National Identity Register will either pollute statistical validity of Census based data. There are already parts of our cities where the Census data is simply not statistically valid, due to the fears of people about the the Poll Tax / Community Charge. how much worse will this get with the National identity Register and theID card scheme ?
The National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, Len Cook is going back to New Zealand when his contract expires this year, could the Citizen Information Project have contributed to this decision ?
Our first FOIA request to the Office for National Statistics:
Customer Contact Centre Room 1.015 Office for National Statistics Cardiff Road Newport NP10 8XGCopy sent by email: info@statistics.gov.uk
Microsoft Word format attachment: ONS_foia_1.docSunday 23rd January 2005
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Formal Request for InformationDear Sir or Madam
Please provide me with the following information:
1. All emails, notes, business cases, project proposals, minutes of meetings and reports pertaining to the Citizen Information Project
http://www.gro.gov.uk/cip/2. All Office of Government Commerce Gateway Reviews, Regulatory Impact , Privacy Audit, Security Risk , Financial Risk or similar interim or final reports or assessments of the project scope and risks, regarding the Citizen Information Project and its interaction, if any, with the National Identity Register being proposed in the Identity Cards Bill.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmbills/008/2005008.htmPlease provide the information ideally by publishing it on your public world wide website, or alternatively by email.
In the unlikely event that this information is not already available in a standard electronic format, then please explain the reasons why, when you provide the information in another format.
If you are proposing to make a charge for providing the information requested, please provide full details in advance, together with an explanation of any proposed charge
If you decide to withhold any of the information requested you should clearly explain why you have done so in your response, by reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 legislation. If your decision to withhold is based upon an evaluation of the public interest, then you should clearly explain which public interests you have considered, and why you have decided that the public interest in maintaining the exception(s) outweighs the public interest in releasing the information.
I look forward to receiving the information requested as soon as possible and in any event within 20 working days of receipt. i.e. by Tuesday 15th February 2005
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
If you require any clarification of this request please contact me as soon as possible.
Yours sincerelyemail:
mobile phone:
Hang on. I thiought this was cancelled six months ago. I'll try to dig out the reference.
The Home Office may no longer be planning to rely on the Citizen Information Project to feed its National Identity Register which in turn would create a feedback loop back into the CIP, magnifying errors , duplications and ommissions. The CIP may have been punted into the political long grass of the Registry for Births, Marriages and Deaths, to report after June 2005, i.e. after the presumed date of the next General Election in May, but, it does not appear that the Citizen Information Project has actually been cancelled:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/cip/next/next.asp
"The project continues work within the Office for Government Commerce's Gateway Review. CIP is also maintaining contact with the Department of Constitutional Affairs, the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Public Sector Team in the Regulatory Impact Unit on relevant data sharing issues.
HMT asked Len Cook, Registrar General for England and Wales to take forward the project definition of the CIP. Dennis Roberts is the senior responsible owner during the current project definition phase, which is due to finish by June 2005.
For more information please contact: populationregister@ons.gov.uk
General Register Office (E&W)
October 2004"