Government Considers Watering Down Mandatory Element Of Digital ID
There is a strong wish within the PLP for the scheme to be introduced as non-mandatory (Alamy)
4 min read
Exclusive: There are discussions within government about introducing a key part of the digital ID scheme as optional, rather than as mandatory, PoliticsHome understands.
It comes as ministers try to build public support for the scheme after recent opinion polls suggested that the proposal had become less popular since the scheme was announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September.
The government has previously said that the planned digital ID will be mandatory for Right to Work checks from 2029. This is the only element for which use will be mandatory, with other uses to be available to the public voluntarily.
However, sources familiar with internal discussions have told PoliticsHome that one change under consideration within government is introducing the Right To Work element of the scheme as optional in 2029, before potentially making it mandatory later down the line.
PoliticsHome understands there is a belief among many Labour MPs that pushing ahead with digital ID in its current form would make it too difficult to win the public over. There was frustration among Labour backbenchers over how the policy was first announced last year, with Labour MPs blaming weak messaging around the scheme.
One Labour MP told PoliticsHome: "It's hard to find a backbench MP who will advocate for mandatory digital ID in public, or a minister who will defend it in private.
"Making it non-mandatory would take a lot of the heat out of the debate and allow everyone to focus on the benefits of choosing to have a digital ID — which are significant."
Speaking at an event hosted by the Institute for Government think tank (IFG) on Tuesday, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, said he believed the policy would grow in popularity over the next 12 months.
"I am positive that digital ID will be seen to be popular," he told PoliticsHome.
"I'm confident that this time next year, the polling will be a much better place on digital ID than it is today," he added.
The government refused to comment on speculation, with a Cabinet Office spokesperson telling PoliticsHome: "Digital Right to Work checks are the only mandatory aspect of the scheme, which will go live from 2029. Digital ID will be voluntary in any other cases.
"We will consult on additional voluntary use cases shortly, some of which may be introduced before 2029. That has always been the case."
The Labour government argues that introducing digital ID will improve public services and help reduce illegal immigration by tackling illegal working.
However, shortly following the announcement, the Prime Minister appeared to acknowledge that the government had to do better at communicating the pros of the policy to the public. "I do think we need to emphasise and make the case for the great benefits of digital ID," Starmer said during a trip to India in October.
Writing for The House late last year, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) think tank, which strongly supports a policy of digital ID, argued that government messaging around it must focus on how it could make the lives of everyday people easier.
A survey published by think tank More in Common shortly after the policy launch in September found that net support for digital ID had fallen from 35 per cent in June to -14 per cent in the weekend after the announcement.
In October, the information commissioner warned that without public support, the policy would not succeed.
A public consultation on the policy, expected to get underway in the next month, is seen within government as an opportunity for a major reset of the communication of the policy.
As part of that consultation, ministers are expected to tour the country and speak to members of the public directly about the policy, PoliticsHome reported in December.
At the beginning of last month, a petitions debate discussed what one MP described as “the fourth most signed petition in the history of parliamentary e-petitions”, which called for the government to reverse the policy.
PoliticsHome analysis at the time showed that in 120 Labour constituencies across the UK, more than one in 20 constituents are estimated to have signed the petition, comparing signatories to population estimates. The petitions committee aims to ensure that each individual who signs the petition can only sign once, although some duplications may fall through.
Cabinet ministers Bridget Phillipson, Lisa Nandy, Jonathan Reynolds, Yvette Cooper, Ed Miliband and John Healey all have constituencies with these instances of signatures.
Bloomberg reported last week that the UK government had asked ministers to find reductions in their departmental spending in order to fund the scheme.
