Overview
- The Cabinet Office opened an eight-week consultation running to May 5 and will convene a 100–120 person People’s Panel to shape the scheme’s scope and rules.
- The government demonstrated an early 'government by app' prototype to show how services could be accessed, saying it will be built in-house and avoid a single central database with departmental data kept at source.
- Use of a digital ID will be voluntary, with employers required to run digital right-to-work checks by 2029 while workers can choose a government credential, private-sector options, or passports and eVisas.
- Proposed uses include free childcare applications, filing tax returns, checking tax codes, renewing driving licences, and age verification, with health services staying in the NHS app and no new police powers to demand ID.
- Costs and delivery remain uncertain: the Cabinet Office offered no firm estimate, the OBR puts near-term costs at about £1.8 billion, and reports point to resistance on data sharing from the health and education departments.