The government's digital ID plan: Why now and what for?

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Keir Starmer has announced plans for a new digital ID scheme to combat illegal working and make it easier for people to use vital government services like applying for a driving licence and accessing tax records. The government has said that digital ID will be mandatory for right to work checks by the end of this parliament.

But critics argue that government has not made a clear case for digital ID, and warn that building a secure, reliable and trusted form of digital identity will be a monumental challenge to implement.

So what problem – and for whom – would digital ID solve? Are the government’s ambitions realistic? Is the right data and security infrastructure in place?  And what could this mean for digitally excluded groups?  

To discuss these questions and more, we were joined by an expert panel including: 

• Rachel Coldicutt, Founder and Executive Director of Careful Industries
• Matthew Feeney, Advocacy Manager at Big Brother Watch
• David Normington, former Permanent Secretary at the Home Office
• Morgan Wild, Chief Policy Adviser at Labour Together and author of “Britcard: a progressive digital identity for Britain”

The event was chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. 

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