Digital ID build will not be outsourced to private firm, says minister

The creation of the Government’s digital ID will be done in-house and not outsourced to a private firm, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister has said.

Darren Jones said “the responsibility for the design, build and running of it will be within Government”.

It comes amid concerns about the role Palantir is playing in key state services, with critics opposing a deal for the American tech giant to provide a data platform for the NHS and a three-year £421 million contract signed with the Ministry of Defence last year to continue providing services such as data integration, analytics and AI platforms.

Mr Jones gave a demonstration of a prototype of “Government by app” underpinned by digital ID at a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday.

He said: “A big question people ask is, who is going to build this? And the answer is, we are.

“This system is a piece of sovereign technology capability and the responsibility for the design, build and running of it will be within government with the support of the Government Digital Service.

“It will not be outsourced to a private company.

“Data relating to the digital ID will always be stored in line with standard government practice, just like how your passport or national insurance data is stored today.

“There will also not be one new single central database of all of this information in the centre of government, it will remain situated where it is. For instance, data about your benefits entitlement will stay with the Department for Work and Pensions. Your driving data will stay with DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency), your tax data with HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs).”

The minister said the scheme “will become the front door to how you access public services” and will cut costs to the taxpayer.

Pointing to current inefficiencies, he said the DVLA currently processed 45,000 letters each day, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs used 500 different paper forms, and HMRC handled more than 100,000 phone calls a day.

“Driving those efficiencies will be critical to making public services more affordable for the taxpayer in the long-term,” he said, noting that it could lead to future tax cuts as it saved “tens of billions of pounds”.