A new digital ID scheme will be rolled out across the UK in an effort to make it easier to use vital government services and help combat illegal working.
The scheme will be available to all UK citizens and legal residents and will end the need for complicated identity checks which rely on copies of paper records.
The rollout will make it simpler to apply for services such as driving licenses, childcare and welfare while streamlining access to tax records.
Digital ID will be mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of the Parliament and will be held on mobile devices.
The initiative builds on the government’s crackdown on illegal working and its mission to control borders as part of the Plan for Change.
Under the current government, illegal working arrests have risen by 50%, and new legislation is being brought forward to help stop illegal working in the gig economy.
“I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering.
“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.
“It will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly.”
The new digital system will drive up compliance, crack down on forged documents and create intelligence data on businesses that are conducting checks to help the Home Office take action on employers who are hiring illegally.
“How we experience government could be about to transform, for the better,” said Alexander Iosad, director of government innovation at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI).
“Not only can Digital ID help us to tackle illegal migration, but done correctly and responsibly, it can open the door to a whole new model of services that come to you when you need them.
“Our polling released just days ago shows that not only do 62% of Brits spanning the whole spectrum of politics want digital ID, but that they want it to do more than just prove who they are.
“Digital ID can and should be a gateway to government services whether that’s reporting potholes or even voting.”
The government will listen to a range of views on how the service will be delivered, as part of a public consultation to be launched later this year to ensure the scheme also works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone.
The scheme will be rolled out alongside an outreach programme, including face-to-face support for citizens who are struggling to access the scheme.
Julie Dawson, chief policy and regulatory officer at Yoti, points to the existing framework already in place. “Through the government’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF), certified providers like Yoti are already carrying out millions of age and identity checks every month, supporting Right to Work, Right to Rent, DBS, and more,” she said.
“This thriving private sector ecosystem shows that digital ID is not a future concept, it’s here today, trusted by businesses and millions of people across the UK.”
The new Digital ID scheme reportedly limits personal details being shared unnecessarily, using state-of-the-art encryption and user authentication to ensure data is held and accessed securely.
Matthew Holman, AI and Data lawyer at law firm Cripps is wary of data misuse from the scheme. “A significant part of whether UK citizens feel able to trust the government will in fact hinge on how effectively the government can be held to account if things go wrong with the use of digital data,” he said.
“However, a significant fly in the ointment is that the UK’s state appointed data protection authority has become increasingly weak, lenient and disinclined to punish wrongdoing, especially by public bodies.
“This could result in a situation where the government is not effectively held to account for use (or misuse) of personal data arising from digital ID cards.”
TBI’s Alexander Iosad agrees that data security should be at the heart of the scheme, but believes that this is, and will be, the case.
“It is important that any digital ID system is built with privacy, security and convenience baked in from the start, and international experience shows this can be done,” Iosad added.
“There is no reason to believe Britain, one of the world’s pre-eminent tech nations, cannot do it too.”
