A Telegraph reader from Brussels writes:

As a Briton who has lived in Belgium for more than 26 years, I am possibly more "identity card conscious" than most and can see where these things can lead. Apart from the references to a photograph (which my card bears) and biometric data (which my card does not), I have seen no reference to other information to be recorded on the proposed British card.

My card also shows my marital status, my address and an expiry date. References to the £39 fee for the card have all implied that it would be a one-off charge - however, if it follows the pattern of cards here, this charge will be payable for a new card whenever one moves house, marries, divorces or is widowed, or, if none of those things occurs, after a certain number of years.

In addition, since here the card is issued at a commune (borough) level, moving to a different commune can involve the requirement to produce such things as a "Certificat de Bonne Vie et Moeurs" (Certificate of Good Character) from the police in your last commune.

As if this wasn't enough, the system then requires policing. A friend of mine, a woman living alone in a large house, decided as a safety measure to add a couple of fictitious names to the doorbell, to make the house seem more populated. She then discovered that the commune employs people to go around noting the names on doorbells, and comparing them against the local register. The only way she could stop the commune hassling her about these two "illegal residents" was to remove the names.