Scottish plans for central identity database spark privacy criticism

Campaigners alarmed after ministers quietly publish plans they say echo doomed ID card scheme

NHS identity details are to be shared on a central register under Scottish government plans. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/for the Guardian

Privacy and civil rights campaigners have urged the Scottish government to drop plans for a new identity database which could allow public bodies, including tax authorities, to share every adult’s private data.

Scottish ministers have been accused of introducing a central database by stealth after civil servants quietly published plans to expand an NHS register to cover all residents and share access with more than 100 public bodies, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Public consultation on the proposal, which has faced intense opposition in the Scottish parliament after the scale and reach of the project came to light, ended on 25 February.

Critics claim the plans for the wholesale use in Scotland of the unique citizen reference number (UCRN) were extremely similar to the national ID card proposals by the UK Labour government, which were dropped on privacy and civil rights grounds after the coalition took office in 2010.