Consultative measure intended to inform plans for national digital identity will be delivered through an existing contract, and will select participants via a random and representative process, according to ministers

The new ‘People’s Panel’ being convened to advise government on the new state-issued digital identity will cost about £630,000. Participants will be selected entirely randomly, and those with vested interests will not be able to “buy their way in” to a spot on the panel, ministers have pledged.

Launched earlier this month, the ongoing public consultation on digital ID will include the creation of a panel of 100-120 people, intended to provide government with a cross-section of the population.

Participants will be identified via a nationwide civic lottery, and “will be selected scientifically by the company we’re working with – to make sure they’re a representative sample of different ages and demographics and backgrounds, and [also in terms of] their views of this programme already, and where they come from across the country”, according to chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones.

The company in question will be Paris-based market-research heavyweight Ipsos – which will deliver the panel via an incumbent commercial arrangement with government that predates the current administration, according to James Frith, the minister with responsibility for oversight of digital ID.

“The People’s Panel will cost approximately £630,000,” he said. “This will be covered under a pre-existing contract with Ipsos, which is the primary vendor, signed in March 2024. The vendor is a significant long-term government contractor, including under the last administration.”

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Frith, who was answering written parliamentary questions from Conservative MP Alex Burghart, reiterated that the selection of those taking part in the panel will be a fair process – and one based on chance, not choice.

“Participants will be recruited through a process called sortition,” he said. “This is a random postcode lottery. It is a way of selecting individuals to take part in deliberative processes, where everyone is given an equal chance to be invited. No individual can buy their way in or simply turn up at the event. All participants must be 18 or over to join the People’s Panel.”

Those who are selected to take part will be remunerated at a level commensurate with their time and efforts, the minister said.

“Participants are paid in line with industry standards,” he added. Payment recognises the time that people are giving up to take part and ensures that a diverse range of participants (e.g. including those on low-incomes, unemployed, with caring responsibilities, etc.) can participate. Payments are aligned to each workshop they attend, so may vary depending on attendance.”

Frith stressed the intended benefits of the panel, and government’s commitment to ensuring the group gather together is illustrative of the country as a whole.

“We need to make sure digital ID works for everyone, and that’s why we’re establishing a People’s Panel on digital ID, which brings together a diverse group of people – selected to be broadly representative of the population of the UK – to consider different perspectives and debate trade-offs,” he said.