Public to have their say on digital ID in ‘national conversation’ next week

Ministers will next week ask members of the public what they think about digital ID.

Sir Keir Starmer’s chief secretary Darren Jones said “Government-by-app – much like with banking and shopping – will become a reality”, as he announced a “national conversation” on the controversial plans.

Cabinet Office minister James Frith said ministers wanted digital IDs to be “not compulsory but something people deem for themselves as a ‘must have’”.

The Prime Minister launched the policy last September, saying at a London conference: “You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID.”

Members of the public would not be forced to have a digital ID, former minister Josh Simons told the Commons earlier this year, but he also said that right to work checks “will be digital and they will be mandatory” by the 2030s.

Speaking on Thursday, Mr Jones told the Commons: “Next week, we’ll be launching a national conversation to ensure the public has their say on how digital ID can be used to make modern public services.

“Digital ID will be free to access, secure and make it easier to prove who you are when logging into the Gov.uk app.

“Over time, Government-by-app – much like with banking and shopping – will become a reality with quicker, easier and more secure access to public services at the touch of a button, ensuring that our public services are there for people when they need them.”

Jeff Smith, the Labour MP for Manchester Withington, earlier said: “Even though digital ID will make it easier for people to access public services and to engage with public bodies, there’s still an awful lot of disinformation and, frankly, conspiracy theory out there trying to undermine the case for it.

“Does the Government have any specific plans to try and counter those narratives as part of the consultation?”

Mr Frith replied: “Let me be clear, this will not be compulsory and there is no central pot of data.

“In my early conversations already, I have been assured of the security of data-by-design and the intentions of this plan to make digital ID not compulsory but something people deem for themselves as a ‘must have’.

“It is for us to rise to this challenge in our design and delivery of it.

“More broadly, we want to have a national conversation and the upcoming consultation will clearly set out the Government’s position on this programme.”

Ministers have previously said rolling out digital ID would make it simpler to apply for driving licences, childcare and benefits, at the same time making it easier to access tax records.

But the Government does not enjoy full-throated support for the policy from Labour backbenchers.

Former minister Dame Meg Hillier has previously said digital IDs “must not be a requirement to access a public service”, calling for “really clear and established workarounds”.

Jim McMahon, another Labour former minister, warned earlier this year that “the Government is appearing that is intruding on people’s everyday lives in a way that is overbearing”.