MPs are to investigate the risks and opportunities of digital identity in the UK, as Labour influencers increasingly call for the introduction of a national scheme.
The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has announced an inquiry into the issues surrounding the use of government-issued digital ID.
The move comes as the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) prepares to launch its Gov.uk Wallet, backed by a digital driving licence, which citizens will be able to use to help prove their identity and for purchasing age-limited products such as alcohol.
The committee will include other forms of digital identity in its investigation, such as the controversial introduction of eVisas to prove immigration status and the growing use of biometric identification such as fingerprints and facial recognition.
Committee chair Karen Bradley said the inquiry will examine the potential benefits as well as the likely risks.
“Introducing digital ID could help the Home Office achieve its ambitions to reduce crime and improve control over the immigration system,” she said. “But there are also fears that ID schemes could infringe on people’s privacy or be costly to implement effectively.
“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,” said Bradley. “We will be exploring the benefits and risks of digital ID systems as well as the practical challenges to their introduction.”
Written submissions
The committee is inviting written submissions to explore these issues, including whether any government-issued digital identification should be made mandatory.
In April, 42 Labour MPs wrote an open letter to the government calling for a comprehensive digital ID programme.
Earlier this month, think tank Labour Together proposed the introduction of a mandatory national digital identity, which the group labelled as “BritCard”, claiming it would “lay the foundations for a fully-functioning digital identity system that would in time deliver huge benefits in terms of great efficiency and better outcomes in public services”.
The calls from Labour influencers echo those of former prime minister Tony Blair, whose personal think tank, the Tony Blair Institute, has long been a proponent of a national digital identity scheme. When in power, Blair set up a national identity card scheme that was hugely unpopular and eventually scrapped by the coalition government in 2010.
The announcement of the Gov.uk Wallet caused huge concern among the growing number of private sector digital identity providers in the UK, who saw a potential government competitor that could reduce their market opportunity.
However, technology secretary Peter Kyle met with industry players last month and outlined a plan to work in partnership with suppliers, which has – so far – largely quelled those concerns.
The government already has a digital identity system used for access to a growing number of online public services, called Gov.uk One Login. The system, backed by over £330m of funding, has more than six million users, but has recently been dogged by security concerns.
Serious vulnerabilities
In May, Computer Weekly revealed that external security tests found serious vulnerabilities in One Login.
DSIT was also warned by the Cabinet Office in November 2022, and the National Cyber Security Centre in September 2023, that One Login had “serious data protection failings” and “significant shortcomings” in information security that could increase the risk of data breaches and identity theft.
The department said the concerns were “outdated” and arose “when the technology was in its infancy in 2023”.
Public opinion on digital identity is mixed. A YouGov poll suggested that 34% of the public supports the introduction of national identity cards, while 25% strongly support it. However, responses to a 2023 government consultation on data sharing for digital ID found the public expressed strong concerns around data privacy.
A report from Juniper Research into the UK digital ID market predicted a 267% annual growth in the number of people using digital identity apps, reaching 25 million by 2029. Juniper forecasted that more than 45% of UK adults will use the government app – whereas private sector providers will see just 9% growth over the same period.
The Data (Use and Access) Bill, which this week completed its progress through Parliament and awaits royal assent, includes legislation that will help to enable the widespread use of digital identity tools supported by government data.
