Thank you to those constituents who have contacted me about Digital ID. We are now living in an age where we willingly hand over our details to many different organisations in digital form. We do so because it’s convenient and enables us to access services we want.

The new Digital ID will be no different to having a passport or a driving licence – it is just another way to prove who we are, updated for the modern digital age. Privacy will be put first at every step, using encryption and authentication and decentralising data storage. The Digital ID will contain name, date of birth, information on nationality or residency status and a photo. In other words, it will be very similar to current documents like our passport or e-Visas. The consultation – see below – will ask whether people think it would be useful to also include an address.

Having multiple forms of identity for various purposes is bureaucratic for individuals and creates opportunities for abuse and fraud. Additionally, too many people are currently unable to prove their identity and face exclusion from services, such as the 1 in 10 of British citizens who do not have a photo ID. Unlike physical IDs, if a digital ID is lost or stolen, it can be quickly be revoked, updated, and reissued.

Digital ID credentials can also help the risk of identity theft by limiting unnecessary exposure of personal details. For example, only relevant information is shared for each use case. Encryption, authentication, and decentralised data storage also help, giving users greater control over what is shared and with whom.

A Digital ID system will also help tackle the problem of fake documents, and in future people could also find it useful for other things that make their everyday lives easier – from booking appointments or applying for benefits online and proving your age or opening a bank account. We will, of course, have to make sure that this ID can be made available to all citizens including those who don’t have smartphones.

Everyone eligible for the new digital ID will be able to obtain and benefit from one. Importantly, this will provide an opportunity for those who are digitally excluded, or who struggle to prove their identity at the moment, to engage more effectively with public services in their everyday lives. In exceptional circumstances, where someone really can’t use a digital ID, they will be offered a physical, digitally enabled version of the ID as an alternative.

The other point I want to make – to respond to some misinformation – is that the ID will be free and there will be no requirement to carry it on you. So police officers and others will not be able to ask you to produce it. This will make it very different from some countries where their citizens can be required to produce their papers.

What will be the case is that, by the end of this Parliament, we will need one in order to be able apply for a new job when right to work checks are carried out – as is already the case.

The Government will shortly launch a public consultation and work with employers, trade unions, civil society groups, and others to help design the Digital ID programme. Following this, primary legislation establishing the framework for the system will be introduced.

Finally, I just wanted to add that I’ve changed my mind about digital ID in recent years. It seems pretty obvious now that this is the way of the future, and if we look around other democratic states in Europe, we can see similar systems being developed.

I hope this is helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to write to me.

Best wishes

Rt Hon Hilary Benn
MP for Leeds South
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland