Benefits, Deficiencies and Human Rights - Essay Example

Every change to the above information, or notification of errors within existing information, must be notified to the relevant controller of the register and ID Cards within a predetermined timescale. It appears from the structure of the Act at present that both accuracy and notification is, in the main, the responsibility of the individual. The Act provides for charges and penalties (both Civil and criminal). Charges will relate to an individual’s information included within the act, part of which will be covered by the increase in passport fees.

In addition in some cases, there will be charges levied when the registrar provides information to third parties. It should be noted here that the Secretary of state has the ultimate right to decide to whom information may be revealed, providing they have requested it in the prescribed manner. Civil penalties are provided for in respect of failure to register or renew, notify changes or correct errors and surrender of the card within a prescribed (covered in schedules 7,10 and 11 of the Act).

Those actions that could result in criminal penalties, including fines and/or imprisonment of up to two years, are outlined within sections 25,27,28 and 29 of the Act and relate to forgery, deliberate misuse, misinformation, and possession of false cards and documentation.             Certain safeguards have been embedded within the act in an effort to ensure that the Act itself, the Secretary of State nor the legal system can be misused.

There are provided both for public consultation and agreement through parliament in the event of any significant change to the Act, together with a responsibility placed upon the Secretary of State to report to parliament on a regular basis. However, he has been conferred with the power to omit from those reports information which he/she considers to be of a sensitive nature, as long as it is recorded that such omissions have been made. Within section 22 of the Act, it provides for the appointment of an independent Commissioner who will be granted, subject to limits imposed on his office by parliament and the treasury, sufficient funds to enable his duties.