Gandalf the Red wrote:Well they never seem to know where the Muslim terrorists are. :lol:
To the rest of it. No idea about driving. But when I went to hospital with a cut hand a few years ago they knew much more about me than they should have known considering I haven't been registered with a doctor since 1990. The fact they knew my address at the time was very disturbing considering I didn't officially live there and my name wasn't on any bills.
That was Blair and his police state. :P
Now that is actually quite interesting, although if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it could simply be a case of the NHS having access to your HMRC contact information to confirm that you contribute NI? Although that wouldn't really be their business. Having said that, I'm occasionally asked for my NI number for unrelated things - for example, since doing away with the paper counterpart for your driving license, some car rental companies now require a code from the DVLA to show if you're currently down any points on your license. And part of filling out the form to get that code involves supplying your NI number. Which is odd, but probably a part of identity verification. Anyway, there's always going to be an address associated with your NI number, and it's likely to always be your current one if you're employed in any way.
Hospitals require your address because it's how they determine where the funds for your treatment come from (well, this is what I was once told when using a walk-in NHS clinic), as it's apparently sorted by the surgery where you're registered. I can't recall for sure, but I am fairly positive that my NI number was asked for on the registration form for my GP. It's possible that if you're not registered with a GP, that the hospital will go directly for your NI information from elsewhere, thereby finding out your details.
Food for thought though.
