Meg Hillier MP

Meg Hillier MP (Labour) MP for Hackney South & Shoreditch. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State. Responsible for all government matters relating to identity management.

Identity cards

Parliamentary under secretary of state for identity, responsible for all government matters relating to identity management. Her remit includes identity cards and identity management.

"The National Identity Scheme will be a crucial part of the UK's key national infrastructure, and bring the way we prove identity into the 21st century."
"It has become increasingly clear that the methods we have traditionally relied on to prove ID are outdated, inefficient, and increasingly open to abuse. That has to end, and that is why we are taking the Scheme forward."
"This is a groundbreaking project, with the potential for huge benefits for individuals and for the nation. As the Framework Procurement published today makes clear, we are committed to introducing the Scheme carefully and securely, minimising both cost and risk."

Spectator reports Meg Hillier saying in ID cards are attractive 7 January 2009

"It is nothing short of cynical scaremongering to claim identity cards will put vulnerable women and children at risk, as the No2ID advert does."
"It is a fact that the scheme will use security protections as good as some military data-bases, with criminal penalties of up to two years imprisonment for abuse. Where someone’s details are considered especially sensitive, or make that person vulnerable, their identity can be given additional levels of protection."
"Civil penalties would never be levied against someone with mitigating circumstances for failing to update their details, but I believe most people will want accurate information because of the benefits they will bring."

Kable reports Meg Hillier saying in Minister seeks to cut £30 ID card cost 22 April 2008

"Cost is a very important part of this, and I am pleased that the work we have done over the past year or so has meant that we have reduced the cost of the scheme by around £1bn,"

BBC junior Home Office minister Meg Hillier said there was no question of a U-turn on ID cards. Brown 'still supports ID cards' 9 January 2008

"ID cards are going ahead. We had the act of Parliament passed."
"I am busy working at proposals now for how exactly we will be doing that and in due course the home secretary will be making announcements about how that will happen."

She said speculation about a change of heart had "got a bit heated unnecessarily".

"We always said there would be a further vote in Parliament about identity cards,"
"And we always said that any discussion about compulsion would only come after a scheme was implemented on a voluntary basis and had acceptance."

Home Office Minister Meg Hillier commenting on a trial of using ID Cards to make Criminal Records checks faster and more robust. 1 October 2007

"I am very pleased by the positive reaction of the volunteers in this joint venture between the CRB and IPS."
"Clearly, establishing identity quickly and accurately is absolutely crucial when dealing with people who want to work with children or vulnerable adults. Employers have to make sure that the person applying for the job is actually who they say they are."
"By linking your details to your fingerprints, the National Identity Scheme will make it easier and quicker to prove identity as well as protecting your personal details from fraudsters."

Freedom of Information

Her remit includes Freedom of Information.

DNA database

House of Commons debate National DNA Database 15 October 2007

There are no Government plans for a universal database such as Lord Justice Sedley has suggested. However, I and other Ministers would welcome a debate about the DNA database, which has grown. Unlike the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry), I studied it when it came into force—when I was doing A-levels—so we have different perspectives on the matter. Because it has grown to include more than 4 million people, it is important that we get the chance to debate how we proceed. I have already asked officials to look at the design of the forms on which people give their permission—if they have given it voluntarily—for that information to remain permanently on the database.

Written Ministerial Statement National DNA Database 25 July 2007

Further to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) on 16 February 2006, on the subject of the National DNA Database, I am pleased to announce that we are establishing an Ethics Group to be to provide Ministers with independent ethical advice on the operation and practice of the National DNA Database (NDNAD).
The Ethics Group will be chaired by Professor Peter Hutton, Professor of Anaesthesia at the University of Birmingham. Its membership will be as follows:
Mrs Wendy Coates
Ms Madeleine Colvin
Mr Michael Menlowe
Dr Andrea Pearson
Dr Clive Richards
Dr Sarmeer Sarkar
Ms Sarah Thewlis
Dr Suzy Walton
The Ethics Group is being established as an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body. Its role in relation to the NDNAD will include:
Reviewing the appropriateness of policy and practice;
Ensuring the maintenance of high ethical standards in decision making;
Ensuring that the public interest is properly served in relation to the way in which DNA samples and profiles are provided and stored.
The Ethics Group will also provide advice on:
Research applications that involve access to NDNAD samples or data;
Operational services provided by suppliers that rely upon access to NDNAD samples or data;
Matters referred to it by Ministers; by the NDNAD Strategy Board or on its own initiative.
The Ethics Group will submit a formal report by the end of April each year and this will be published by the Home Office.
I am arranging for the Protocol which will govern the operation of the Ethics Group to be placed in the Library.

Digital Economy Bill

Said in private correspondence (with Sam Stokes) that she supports the Digital Economy Bill.

Links

News

2008-04-22 - Kable - Minister seeks to cut £30 ID card cost
Summary: Home Office minister Meg Hillier has said the government wants industry to help drive down the cost of the identity cards to the public. The first cards will be issued at a charge of £30, but Hiller said that as the volume issued increased, companies should be able to produce them more cheaply. She emphasised, however, that most of the cost of the scheme was created not by the cards themselves, but by databases and supporting systems
2008-02-27 - ZDNet - Home Office proclaims security of ID cards scheme
Summary: Home Office MP Meg Hillier says access controls and encrypted data will ensure the National Identity Register doesn't suffer a catastrophic data breach
2008-02-27 - Kable - Minister defends ID security
Summary: The National Identity Register will have very limited access, stringent security and no risk of 'discs flying around', MPs have been told Home Office minister Meg Hillier defended the government's plans for its controversial National Identity Scheme, as she faced questions about data security from a committee of MPs. Hillier, who has responsibility for identity cards, said it was important to win public confidence in the scheme, particularly following a number of recent cases in which the government had misplaced or lost confidential data.
2007-10-01 - Goverment News Network - Thumbs up for ID Card / Criminal record check trial
Summary: Plans for a new service using ID cards to help make Criminal Records checks faster and more robust have been given a resounding thumbs-up by volunteers in a trial of the new process. ... Home Office Minister Meg Hillier said: "I am very pleased by the positive reaction of the volunteers in this joint venture between the CRB and IPS." "Clearly, establishing identity quickly and accurately is absolutely crucial when dealing with people who want to work with children or vulnerable adults. Employers have to make sure that the person applying for the job is actually who they say they are." "By linking your details to your fingerprints, the National Identity Scheme will make it easier and quicker to prove identity as well as protecting your personal details from fraudsters."
2007-08-09 - Goverment News Network - National Identity scheme moves forward
Summary: Today marks another milestone in delivery of the National Identity Scheme with the start of the procurement process. ... "The National Identity Scheme will be a crucial part of the UK's key national infrastructure, and bring the way we prove identity into the 21st century." "It has become increasingly clear that the methods we have traditionally relied on to prove ID are outdated, inefficient, and increasingly open to abuse. That has to end, and that is why we are taking the Scheme forward." "This is a groundbreaking project, with the potential for huge benefits for individuals and for the nation. As the Framework Procurement published today makes clear, we are committed to introducing the Scheme carefully and securely, minimising both cost and risk."
2007-07-27 - Kable - Hillier given ID ministerial brief
Summary: Meg Hillier MP has been named as the new parliamentary under secretary of state for identity. Named at the beginning of July in Home secretary Jacqui Smith's new Home Office team, it was announced on 26 July 2007 that she will assume responsibility for all government matters relating to identity management. Her full remit includes the Identity and Passport Service, identity cards and identity management, criminal records and criminality based data, science, technology and research, and Freedom of Information.
2007-07-03 - Home Office Press Release - Home Secretary and Ministerial Team Appointed
Summary: Tony McNulty and Liam Byrne remain as Ministers of State while Vernon Coaker remains as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State. New to the team are Admiral Sir Alan West GCB DSC, who joins the Home Office as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the House of Lords, and Meg Hillier who also joins the department as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State. The new Home Office team is:
  • the Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP – Home Secretary with overall responsibility for the Home Office;
  • Tony McNulty MP – Minister of State;
  • Liam Byrne MP – Minister of State. Mr Byrne also becomes Minister for the West Midlands;
  • Vernon Coaker MP – Parliamentary Under Secretary of State;
  • Admiral Sir Alan West GCB DSC - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State; and
  • Meg Hillier MP - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.
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