House of Commons · Urgent Question
15 January 2026 · 33 other contributors
Opened by Mike Wood Con Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Mike Wood raised concerns about digital id 2026-01-15 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
Key points
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
Will the Minister confirm that the mandatory digital ID policy will continue as planned? The MP expresses concern about the policy's cost, effectiveness, and whether it is still necessary given its evolution. He also questions if the Government expects to proceed with a £1.8 billion expense for this project when it may not be compulsory.
Question
The MP questions the Minister’s credibility regarding the policy's viability, pointing out that the Prime Minister initially deemed it vital but now appears to be backing away from its initial mandatory nature. He also asks whether digital ID will still cost £1.8 billion, if it is truly voluntary or not, and when the Government will abandon this project.
Minister reply
The digital ID will be rolled out for free to everyone who wants one by the end of this Parliament. It will make it easier for businesses to check people’s right to work digitally and enable tougher enforcement against illegal working. The scheme is not mandatory, as access to public services will not depend on having a digital ID.
Question
The MP welcomes the Minister’s explanation but asks for confirmation that this scheme is indeed non-mandatory, the digital ID will not be a requirement to access public services, and there are clear workarounds available for those who do not or cannot have one.
Minister reply
Digital IDs will be free and voluntary for everyone eligible. Access to public services will not depend on having it, and we are rolling out the largest digital inclusion programme to ensure no one is left behind.
Question
The MP questions how much has been spent so far and how much more is planned for this scheme. He also criticises the Government's lack of conviction on their policy changes.
Minister reply
Detailed costings will be available after choices are made in a few weeks’ consultation. Nations with digital ID programmes have realised significant savings; for example, India’s programme saves $10 billion annually.
Question
The MP asks the Minister to outline examples of how it could make life easier for her constituents.
Minister reply
Digital IDs will be free and available to every eligible UK citizen who wants one. The consultation invites people to tell us about potential benefits, such as solving information boundary problems and joining up public services.
Question
The MP congratulates the Minister on his position but questions when the Prime Minister will complete a U-turn and abandon this project.
Minister reply
Digital ID cards will be rolled out by the end of this Parliament, free to everyone who wants one. The programme is about transforming public services, joining up government, and making it work better for ordinary working people.
Question
The MP highlights the benefits of digital ID for young people in proving their age but asks about older constituents without smartphones.
Minister reply
We are designing a free and voluntary scheme where everyone who wants one can have it. We will ensure there are clear workarounds so no one loses out.
Question
How will the new, voluntary digital ID scheme differ from what already exists, such as gov.uk, and how will it supersede existing identity verification methods like national insurance numbers?
Minister reply
I am delighted that the hon. Member is so pleased with gov.uk. I am sure that he will be equally delighted when we roll out the simple, easy-to-use and effective digital ID, which will help him to access a whole range of public services through gov.uk that he cannot currently access.
Question
This is a mess. Increasing surveillance and encroachments on fundamental freedoms are making the public angry. Can the Minister convey to those behind this farce that it is time to scrap this costly project altogether?
Minister reply
I too believe in freedom. Any good digital system must be trusted; if it is not trusted, it does not work. That point will be at the heart of the consultation that we will publish in a few weeks.
Question
Can the Minister list exactly what services people will be able to access once the digital ID scheme is rolled out?
Minister reply
Let me restate for the hon. Gentleman the argument that connects digital ID to small boat crossings. We are using digital right-to-work checks, which will enable an audit of where those checks have happened.
Question
When coming into government, the Prime Minister promised to 'tread more lightly' on people’s lives and be a Government of service. However, recent policies seem intrusive and overbearing. Can this revision align with those founding principles?
Minister reply
I agree with my hon. Friend that it is vital that people trust any digital product and system that this Government build. Trust has to be at the heart of everything we do.
Question
Why did the Government not conduct design work before announcing cost savings from Departments? Would it not have made sense to establish a budget first?
Minister reply
I, for one, want to hear from people before key digital products are designed. Good product design is based on what is useful for people, which is why we will have a major consultation in coming weeks.
Question
Will the Minister outline the benefits of the scheme in terms of both value and provision of slicker Government services to residents?
Minister reply
We absolutely will outline those benefits. I would just underscore that countries all over the world have introduced a digital ID scheme to better join up public services.
Question
Will the Minister give an assurance that the digital ID database will not be made available to the police for live facial recognition?
Minister reply
The digital ID database will be based on the principle of data minimisation. The minimum possible data that the Government already have will be stored about every individual citizen.
Question
Will the Minister convey the lessons learned from this decision to colleagues across Government and persuade them to drop proposals to erode civil liberties?
Minister reply
I will feed those comments back to the relevant Secretary of State.
Question
Why did the Government not consult before announcing and then reversing on proposals for mandatory digital ID?
Minister reply
We announced the intention to roll out digital ID cards, and I have clarified today that those will be free for anyone who wants one. We will consult on how to make that maximally useful for every British person.
Question
Does the Department have any modelling on what voluntary uptake would need to be in order to release savings, and can he say more about a new digital right-to-work check?
Minister reply
Our job in building this voluntary scheme is to make it useful and effective. It is on us to figure out how to do that, and that is what we will be doing.
Question
Can the Minister assure me that the Government will ensure they bring constituents and residents along with them in this consultation phase, so that people do not feel they have been left behind?
Minister reply
The Minister assured her that consultations will involve going across the country to listen, engage, and build a consensus on the scheme’s design. He emphasised the commitment to reaching digitally excluded individuals and promoting digital inclusion.
Question
The MP points out that constituents have not requested mandatory digital schemes, questioning whether this scheme will be voluntary or merely a backdoor to making it mandatory in the future.
Minister reply
The Minister clarified that while the digital ID system itself will be voluntary and based on consent, digitising right-to-work checks is part of toughening illegal labour market enforcement. He stressed that the Government aims to reduce fraud through this measure.
Question
As someone who supports modernising and digitising the state but spoke against mandatory digital ID, does he agree that current right-to-work checks are unfit for purpose and will the scheme help crack down on illegal working?
Minister reply
The Minister agreed with his concerns about the inefficiency of current systems. He outlined how digitisation would improve enforcement against businesses hiring illegally and support workers' rights.
Question
Will foreign companies, particularly Chinese ones, have access to our data? How will British citizens consent be respected in the scheme?
Minister reply
The Minister confirmed that no foreign companies would have access to data. He emphasised that data usage will be based on individual consent and subject to strong safeguards.
Question
How will digital ID make right-to-work checks more robust, particularly for businesses known for hiring illegal workers?
Minister reply
The Minister explained that digitisation would simplify the process for both employers to check and employees to prove their right to work. It also allows recording of businesses conducting these checks, aiding in tougher enforcement.
Question
Will he guarantee that this voluntary scheme will not become mandatory at a later date?
Minister reply
The Minister indicated that legislation would include safeguards preventing the scheme from becoming mandatory without proper scrutiny and consultation.
Question
Will he feed back to Cabinet on the concerns about civil liberties and the necessity of digital ID?
Minister reply
The Minister agreed to feedback these thoughts to the leadership at Cabinet level.
Question
Does he accept that arguing for a compulsory database for 67 million law-abiding citizens is not credible?
Minister reply
The Minister defended the scheme as part of measures to crack down on illegal migration, including extending right-to-work checks in various sectors.
Question
How will digitisation benefit constituents, particularly in streamlining support for parents of children with special educational needs?
Minister reply
The Minister highlighted how digitisation would streamline access to childcare services by reducing the need for repeated information submission.
Question
Does the Minister acknowledge the £1.8 billion estimate provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility regarding the cost of digital ID and confirm how much this will actually cost?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman talks about flapping in the wind, but he might have noticed that one person is flapping in the wind: the shadow Justice Secretary who has been sacked for secret plots to defect. We do not dispute the figures, but crucial design choices about how to make the scheme work will be made after consultation.
Question
Does the Minister think his defence of a 13th U-turn indicates a lack of belief in talking to people first, as he claims?
Minister reply
Talking and listening to people is what I believe in. We will be launching a major public consultation and out across the country talking to people about their frustrations with public services that the Conservative party left to rot for 14 years.
Question
How will mandatory right-to-work checks be used to check employers and what other agencies will have access to the database in a passive way?
Minister reply
Digital right-to-work checks will make it easier for employers to check people’s right to work. When a digital right-to-work check is done, it creates a record that this Government will use alongside other ways to ensure we are enforcing against employers who are undercutting British workers by hiring people illegally.
Question
Will the Minister confirm whether accessing childcare will be dependent on having a digital ID card?
Minister reply
Details of how the scheme will be used will come after the consultation. I invite him to tell us in the consultation how he thinks it could be useful for him to access childcare if he so needs and chooses.
Question
Does the Minister accept that announcing mandatory digital ID, only to then retreat to voluntary digital ID, has created an expensive and chaotic shambles? Will he rule out unequivocally that this is not a trojan horse for compulsory digital ID being imposed later?
Minister reply
We on the Labour Benches have a proud history of building public goods. This piece of digital infrastructure will serve working people across the country for decades to come and make government work better for them.
Question
Does the Minister give an overall ballpark figure of what the Treasury has sanctioned for this scheme, or at least tell us what the consultation will cost?
Minister reply
Members will see more details about the costings in a very few weeks in the consultation. To be clear: no, we do not recognise the figures in the OBR’s estimate because crucial design choices about how to make the scheme work for ordinary people will be made after the consultation.
Question
How do the Government intend to rebuild trust lost due to the proposal of digital ID?
Minister reply
Trust is vital. In the consultation that we will publish in the coming weeks, Members will see that trust is at the heart of how we build the system for working people.
Government Response
Following my appointment as a joint Minister across the Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, I would like to respond to Members’ concerns about the digital ID policy. The programme has two core objectives: transforming the state to make it work better for ordinary working people by providing a modern, secure, and trusted way to prove identity and access services; reducing illegal migration through mandatory digital right-to-work checks. By the end of this Parliament, we will design and roll out a free digital credential to every eligible UK citizen who wants one. We are consulting imminently on how to design this scheme effectively. Digital IDs will be rolled out for free, voluntary use by everyone who wants one; access to public services will not be conditional on having it; and there will be clear workarounds for those who choose or cannot have one.