When Sir Keir Starmer first announced his plans to introduce mandatory digital ID cards to prove one’s right to work, he was unequivocal.
“You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that,” he said back in September.
It turns out it was not quite as simple, after all. Just a little over three months later, the Government has abandoned plans to make digital IDs compulsory for workers as the the Prime Minister scraps policies proving to be a distraction – such as the ‘pubs tax’ and inheritance tax for farmers.
What has the Government announced?
The Government has backed down on its decision to require employees to hold a digital ID card to prove they have a right to work in the UK.
The policy was put forward as a means to help counter the rise in illegal immigration, and followed criticism from France, which claimed that the lack of ID cards in the UK meant it was a haven for illegal migrants, due to the ease they could find work on the black economy.
Why has the Government abandoned these plans?
In fairness to Downing Street, the Government has not entirely scrapped the idea of requiring workers to prove they have a right to work in the country.
Instead, employees will be able to use any identification, such as biometric passports, or e-visas, as evidence that they are in the country legally.
The digital ID card plans proved to be deeply unpopular with voters, and No10 has taken the view that it is better off “scraping the barnacles off the boat”, in reference to abandoning marginal policies that exercise interest groups who can create a lot of adverse publicity, and focusing on issues that matter, such as the cost of living crisis.
Where does this leave digital ID cards?
The plans will still be introduced, but the cards will be entirely voluntary.
Advocates for the policy strongly believe that the public will organically take up the use of digital IDs, because they will help make lives easier, allowing them to access public services and handle annoying admin just by flashing their smartphone.
How could the ID cards still be used?
The Government has still to issue a consultation on the proposals, but ministers, including Starmer, have regularly talked up the prospect of being able to use digital IDs when applying for a school, a driver’s licence or accessing your tax records without having to rummage through drawers trying to find a paper utility bill as proof of address.
How else could they be used?
When the Prime Minister visited India late last year, he held talks with senior figures behind the country’s own vast roll out of digital ID cards to its more than 1bn citizens to hear how they had navigated it.
From that, Starmer said he could see the added benefits of the technology, allowing people to apply for a mortgage or access childcare via an app on a smartphone.
These are still very much possible, meaning people could prove they are who they say they are without the paperwork just by tapping their phone as they would when paying for an item.
What about in pubs and bars?
In December, the Government announced it would legislate to allow digital ID to be used as proof of age to buy alcohol.
The Home Office said the measures would mean people would no longer have to carry physical identification to prove they are over-18 and legally able to buy alcohol in pubs or shops.
This will still go ahead. Officials said that the changes would ultimately mean increased privacy for people, as physical IDs, such as driver’s licences give away additional information, such as a person’s sex, their home address as well as their date of birth.
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A digital ID would simply verify a person’s age using the same contactless payment technology.
What does this mean for digital ID cards in the future?
When Starmer first announced plans to make digital ID cards mandatory, the strongest supporters of the policy were deeply disappointed by the decision.
Indeed, the minister in charge of the policy, Josh Simons, is believed to have been among those advocating hardest for the compulsory element of the plans to be dropped.
The reason for this is because they believe people will voluntarily take up digital identification because it will make their lives easier, particularly younger people, who are far less likely to carry wallets or purses due to the rise of contactless payments on their phones.
One school of thought is that the Government will not need to make digital IDs mandatory, because, over time, everyone will have it installed on their phones anyway.
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