No organisation will have direct access to information recorded on the National Identity Register, with or without the consent of the individual. The Identity Cards Act 2006, and secondary legislation made there under, sets out who may be provided with information from an individual's entry on the register and under what circumstances.
Government policy is that Identity Cards are voluntary. The Prime Minister has made it clear that there will be no legislation to make Identity Cards compulsory for British citizens in the next Parliament. Identity cards are all about personal choice and the introduction of identity cards, which has now started for British citizens, is on a voluntary basis.