Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee has launched a new inquiry to explore the potential benefits and risks of the use of a government-issued digital ID.
The inquiry, which was announced on Thursday 12 June, comes after the government announced plans for a digital ‘Gov.uk wallet’ that would allow people to access digital versions of government documents, including a new digital driver’s licence, which will be possible to use for age verification in shops and pubs once introduced.
eVisas have also recently been introduced to allow individuals to prove their immigration status digitally. The Government has not announced plans for a more comprehensive national digital ID programme, but several organisations have proposed the introduction of a single national digital ID.
Notably, Influential think tank Labour Together published a new paper at the beginning of June pushing for the introduction of BritCard: a mandatory national digital identity.
The BritCard will be issued free of charge to all those with the right to live or work in the UK, whether they are British-born nationals or legal migrants. It will be a verifiable digital credential downloaded onto a user’s smartphone, which could be instantly checked by employers or landlords using a free verifier app.
Proponents of digital ID have argued that its implementation could make it easier to access public services, including the NHS, benefits and tax systems. It could also be used to reduce the risk of fraud through identity theft and support immigration enforcement.
There are, however, concerns about how the government would collect and use personal data, as well as its ability to develop and operate a secure and reliable digital ID scheme at a reasonable cost.
This inquiry will consider how useful a digital ID could be for the Home Office in meeting its objectives, as well as the potential costs and associated risks.
“Introducing digital ID could help the Home Office achieve its ambitions to reduce crime and improve control over the immigration system. But there are also fears that ID schemes could infringe on people’s privacy or be costly to implement effectively,” said Dame Karen Bradley (Chair of the Home Affairs Committee).
“The debate around digital ID is growing, and we want to find the best evidence for how digital ID could be used by the Home Office to implement its priorities. We will be exploring the benefits and risks of digital ID systems as well as the practical challenges to their introduction,” she said.
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