Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Digital ID Scheme

Thursday 4 December 2025 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Toby Perkins asked about the effectiveness of criminal gangs' misinformation regarding job opportunities in Britain for illegal migrants.
  • The Minister responded that Britain lacks digital verification tools for right-to-work checks, unlike other countries.
  • Mike Wood questioned the Prime Minister's ability to implement digital ID without making it mandatory, citing a lack of thorough consideration.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Toby Perkins Lab Chesterfield
Immigration Asylum & Refugees Employment
Context

Progress on a digital identity scheme to combat illegal work and support refugees.

Question

Britain has a proud track record of providing refuge for people fleeing persecution and war, but when tens of thousands of people are travelling across many safe countries to get here, it is clear that the criminal gangs’ sales pitch—that Britain is an easy place to find illegal work—is working. Can my hon. Friend tell me how digital ID will help us smash those criminal gangs and tackle the scourge of illegal work?

Answer from Josh Simons (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office)

Around the world and across Europe, countries use digital checks to evaluate whether someone has a legal right to work, but we do not. While we have brilliant digital verification tools, millions of checks use unreliable paper-based systems based on passports, birth certificates and other forms of evidence. This leaves too much room for fraud and, crucially, creates the perception that our country has weaker regimes for combating illegal working. Digitising checks will enable digital auditing of employers and more enforcement, bringing our illegal working regime in line with international peers and helping to deliver on one of our top priorities: reducing illegal migration.

Answered
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Q2 Mike Wood Con Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Science & Technology
Context

Concerns about the mandatory nature of a digital identity scheme for job applications.

Question

In October, the Prime Minister called a Downing Street press conference rather than come to this House so that he could tell the nation that digital ID will not be mandatory; it is just that people will not be able to get a job without one. What else will they not be able to do without this apparently voluntary digital ID? If people will not be allowed to get a job without digital ID, can the Minister confirm that they will also be unable to receive any benefits without it?

Answer from Josh Simons (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office)

Building a new digital credential for UK systems is a major public good that we need to do carefully and take our time over. That is why, as I said, we will launch a major public consultation in the new year. That consultation will include a whole series of questions about the use cases for digital ID. I look forward to working with the shadow Minister and Members across this House on what the new digital credential should do for our citizens.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific requirements beyond employment were not clarified; consultation will address use cases but no concrete details given about benefits or other functions of the ID.

How: Consultation

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Q3 Mike Wood Con Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Immigration Taxation Employment
Context

Challenging the necessity of a digital identity scheme.

Question

The Minister’s answer makes it clear that this announcement was not a policy—it was a late party conference stunt. The Government obviously have not thought it through; it is clear that the Prime Minister lacks the backbone to push back against officials who have taken this awful idea off the shelf once again. The truth is that this is a £1.8 billion solution in search of a problem. The Minister talks about illegal migration, but there is already a legal responsibility to carry out these checks, and the Home Office offers a reliable service. Can he tell us how many people who have passed the Home Office right-to-work check are later found to not have the right to work?

Answer from Josh Simons (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office)

To be very clear about right-to-work checks: the current system is not fit for purpose. The United Kingdom is out of whack with international peers, and that creates the perception that we have a weak, illegal labour market regime. I am sure that the shadow Minister would not be against toughening up enforcement against illegal working. On the broader benefits of digital ID, in the future economy and state that we need to build, a free digital credential to which every citizen has access is a vital foundational public good for everything that we want our Government and our state to do in the 15 to 20 years ahead. I am proud that this Government are taking on the task of building it.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific flaws in current systems were not detailed; general assertions about international alignment given but no concrete improvements stated.

How: General Benefits

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