National Insurance cards are to be phased out, and spare furniture sold online, under government plans to cut the deficit, the BBC has learned.

The government has also decided to cut the number of criminal checks for junior doctors.

The ideas, expected to save at least £1m a year, were chosen from about 100,000 put forward by members of the public and civil servants.

One union said getting the public to suggest cuts was a gimmick.

During the summer, the Treasury set up a website looking for suggestions on how to save money, eventually receiving more than 100,000.

The National Insurance idea involves replacing the card with a letter for people reaching the age of 16 from late next year. It will tell them their unique NI number.

Criminal Record Bureau checks for junior doctors moving between postings will no longer be carried out every six months under the plans.

In future, hospitals would be allowed to use their own "judgement", the coalition said.

And for spare furniture, an eBay-style website would be used to sell off old items such as computers and office furniture.

The issue with CRB checks can end up being a bit ridiculous. On average, a junior doctor will fill 2-3 CRB forms per year. The enchanced check is £36. There are, according to one source, around 50,000 junior doctors in the UK.

Not a huge amount of savings compared to the billions that need to be cut but I guess "every little helps".

The issue with CRB checks can end up being a bit ridiculous. On average, a junior doctor will fill 2-3 CRB forms per year.

Which seems ridiculous. I filled in a CRB form for my other half’s school as I occasionally do things there. The problem is that CRB form covers just that school, not the LEA, nor the country. The head teacher, who visits other schools, has to get a CRB for each school he visits. That’s a lot of duplicate paperwork. I guess doctors are also limited in this way - a CRB for a hospital or even a department within a hospital.

Which seems ridiculous. I filled in a CRB form for my other half’s school as I occasionally do things there. The problem is that CRB form covers just that school, not the LEA, nor the country. The head teacher, who visits other schools, has to get a CRB for each school he visits. That’s a lot of duplicate paperwork. I guess doctors are also limited in this way - a CRB for a hospital or even a department within a hospital.

But we must Think Of The Children! Just because he's shown school A he's not a baby murdering loon doesn't mean he won't be by the time he gets to school B.