Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Sir Keir Starmer is putting a new minister in charge of rolling out digital IDs as the prime minister seeks to improve public sentiment towards the contentious scheme.
Labour MP Josh Simons, who is currently serving as acting Cabinet Office minister, will be promoted to minister for digital reform in charge of spearheading the government’s digital ID plans. He will be tasked with developing digital IDs as a way to drive reform in public services, including welfare payments, childcare entitlements and local government.
The move marks an effort by Downing Street to assert control over the programme, which has been dogged by controversy and internal wrangling since it was announced in September.
It also represents a victory for those who argue that digital IDs could be used to improve a wide range of public services — including chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones, home secretary Shabana Mahmood, and Simons — over those who think the remit should be strictly limited to combating illegal migration.
“Various people have been pushing very hard that this should be about public sector transformation,” said one person briefed on the discussions, adding that this argument had “won out”.
In a public consultation later this month, the digital ID scheme will be sold as making life easier for citizens. Officials are also eager to stress that digital ID will only be “mandatory” for right-to-work checks, and will never be used to determine access to any public services.
Accessing tax-free childcare and child benefit payments is likely to be among the examples given to show how the scheme would make interacting with government simpler, according to people familiar with ministerial discussions.
Using digital IDs for age checks when buying alcohol has also been suggested as a way to avoid showing driving licences or other documents that could give away information such as addresses. Officials have begun discussions with councils about functions such as automated reminders for bin collections.
A full list of uses has not yet been finalised, but ministers are said to be looking at areas where they can show immediate benefits to voters, who polls suggest have become more sceptical of digital IDs since Starmer proposed it as a way to control migration.
In June, a YouGov poll found that 57 per cent of people supported the introduction of national identity cards while 25 per cent were against. A similar survey conducted by the pollster in December found that support had dropped to 38 per cent, while opposition had increased to 47 per cent.
A petition calling on the government not to introduce digital ID has reached nearly 3mn signatures.
“It will all be about how this is something designed to make your life easier,” said one person familiar with government discussions.
Starmer initially said the aim of the scheme was to make it easier for employers and government officials to identify who has the right to work in the UK. He added that he hoped digital ID would, over time, be used to apply for services such as driving licences and childcare while also streamlining access to tax records.
But the proposals were immediately beset by cabinet divisions over the scope of the programme, and the prime minister faced criticism from senior figures who argued he had announced the policy before hammering out the details.
One senior Labour MP said there was “very little support on the Labour benches — among people who are not ministers — for a mandatory use”.
“People can see the case for improving efficiency of public services and a sense of government competence, but it’s harder to make that case if it’s compulsory for some things,” they said, adding that they thought ministers would ultimately end up backtracking on the mandatory element.
The government said: “We do not comment on speculation. The Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continue to work closely on our approach to delivering digital ID.”