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See other news storiesTerrorism, ID Cards and Immigration Bills become law
30 March 2006
The Terrorism Act 2006, the Identity Cards Act and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act all received royal assent on Thursday 30 March, becoming law.
Terrorism Act 2006
Powerful new measures in the Terrorism Act 2006 will help the police and law enforcement agencies tackle the threat of terrorism. The Terrorism Act 2006 makes it a criminal offence to:
- encourage terrorism, including to glorify terrorism
- disseminate terrorist publications, including by extremist bookshops and through internet activity
- prepare or plan to commit a terrorist act, or to assist others to do so
- give or receive terrorist training, or to attend a terrorist training camp
More information about the Terrorism Act 2006.
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act enables the Government to implement new immigration and asylum measures. Provisions in the Act will:
- restrict appeals for those refused entry to the UK to work or study. The UK will continue to welcome to the UK genuine migrants who meet the transparent and objective criteria set out under the Government’s Points-Based System for managed migration
- tackle illegal working through a new civil penalties scheme for employers by introducing fines of up to £2,000 per illegal employee, custodial sentences of up to two-years and unlimited fines for those found knowingly to use or exploit illegal workers
- strengthen our borders by allowing data sharing between the Immigration Service, police and customs, as part of the e-Borders programme. It will support the global roll-out of fingerprinting visa applicants by giving powers to Immigration Officers to verify identity against biometrics contained in travel documents
- respond to new security threats by denying asylum to terrorists; improving our ability to strip citizenship from and deport those who pose a serious risk to the UK’s interests; and speed up the appeals process in national security deportation cases.
Identity Cards Act
The Identity Cards Act includes measures to help Britain meet the challenges of the 21st century. The National Identity Scheme will provide all UK residents aged over 16 with a universal, highly secure means for safeguarding their identity. The Identity Card Act covers the whole of the UK and:
- establishes the National Identity Register
- provides powers to issue identity cards
- ensures checks can be made against other databases to confirm an applicant's identity and guard against fraud
- sets out what information would be held and what safeguards would be in place
- enables public and private sector organisations to verify a person's identity by checking against the National Identity Register, with the person's consent, to validate their identity before providing services
- includes enabling powers so that in the future access to specified public services could be linked to the production of a valid identity card
- provides for it to become compulsory to register and be issued with a card, including penalties against failure to register
Home Secretary Charles Clarke said:
'I am extremely pleased that three crucial pieces of legislation for my department have today reached the statute books. I have always made clear that there is a balance to be struck between the rights and freedoms of individuals and the security of all our citizens.
'This new legislation together will allow us to uphold our democratic right to freedom of speech and to free movement within the United Kingdom, as well as encouraging managed migration which will benefit the UK economy. At the same time, it will strengthen our ability to keep our borders secure, tackle illegal working and to go about our day to day business safely and secure in the knowledge that people are who they say they are.'
