As government works to promote inclusion in order to support the implementation of mandatory electronic documents, those in scope of these efforts could see broader advantages in the longer term
Dedicated inclusion programmes accompanying the government’s planned rollout of a new digital identity could enable “wider benefits for people who are currently digitally excluded”, a minister has claimed.
By the end of this decade, the right-to-work checks required before being appointed to a new job will involve the mandatory use of a state-issued digital identity. Alongside which, over the coming months and years government is also introducing various other – non-mandatory – forms of digital ID, beginning last week with an electronic Veteran Card, to be followed by virtual versions of driving licences, National Insurance cards, birth and marriage certificates, details of state benefits, and other official documents.
MPs from various parties have asked the government numerous parliamentary questions of late, including several recent enquiries about the impact of digital identity on those without access to technology or connectivity, and addressing the possible effect on groups with higher levels of digital exclusion, such as older people and those with disabilities or chronic health conditions.
In response to one such question, digital government minister Ian Murray said that “digital inclusion is central to our thinking on this”.
“The government will deliver a comprehensive inclusion programme to help ensure everyone eligible is able to access the new digital ID,” he said. “This will include targeted support for both people and businesses who may struggle to access or engage with digital services or devices.”
The minister indicated that this support initiative could help promote inclusion more broadly, beyond just the adoption of digital identity.
He added: “The inclusion programme could also have wider benefits for people who are currently digitally excluded, such as enabling them to access wider benefits of being online such as getting support with the cost of living and the public services they are entitled to.”
By the end of 2025, the government will launch a public consultation about its plans for digital ID, “setting out the proposed approach in more detail and seeking views on this, [which] will include the proposed approach to inclusion”, Murray said.
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“The government will work closely with expert stakeholders to make the programme as effective and inclusive as possible,” he added. “No one will see a reduction in accessibility to public services as a result of these plans; indeed, accessing public services should become much easier for people instead.”
In answer to an enquiry about the investment required to enable the delivery of digital identity, the minister said that “the eventual total cost and savings will depend on the design, build and delivery of the system, matters which will [also] be included in the consultation”.
One question that can be answered concerns the possibility that the new mandatory IDs could provide all workers with means of the proof of identity that is now required at polling stations.
“Once the new digital credential is available, we intend to add it to the list of accepted forms of ID for use in voting in elections,” said democracy minister Samatha Dixon. “We will confirm the details of this closer to the launch of the new digital credential when further development has been completed.”
But elsewhere, Murray clarified that “the government has no plans to mandate the new digital ID for creating online accounts on anonymous websites”.
“We will be consulting on other ways people might want to use this ID by the end of the year, such as when verifying their age for accessing certain websites – but there are no plans to make that mandatory,” he added.
The minister’s comments about the potential wider advantages that could be delivered via the digital ID rollout come shortly after he told PublicTechnology that the introduction of the new electronic Veteran Card could serve as a “really good case study” of the benefits of digital identity and could also help address people’s “legitimate concerns” surrounding the technology.
