UK digital ID bedeviled by details still unknown or unresolved
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# UK digital ID bedeviled by details still unknown or unresolved
Seen as a license, duplicative, a tax grab or requiring a centralized database
Oct 8, 2025, 5:29 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Categories Biometrics News | Civil / National ID | Government Services
Arguments for, against and about the introduction of a mandatory digital ID in the UK are becoming more pointed as details trickle into public view. How the system will work in the Kingdom’s different countries is unclear. Its projected savings look like a tax grab from a certain vantage point, and any impact on illegal employment could come at the cost of creating a new class of law-breakers. Whatever the real-world results, the exercise holds lessons for governments around the world.
## ‘Two digital identities and confusion’
First Minister of Scotland John Swinney’s opposition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plan may have legitimate liberal and nationalist grounds, an opinion piece in The Times argues, but it is impractical. This is because it risks setting up two parallel digital identities for each Scot, Kenny Farquharson writes, and confusion about which is used for each government service.
“Far better to engage right from the start, and set clear guidelines,” he advises. “Ensure that at all times there is sufficient attention paid to devolved sensibilities. One core app with distinct modules in areas such as health and justice must be within the technical capabilities of our brightest minds.”
The duplication of roles is also a chief worry for DIATF-certified service providers.
## ‘License to Work’
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has a post “Fact-checking the UK Digital ID.”
The ID is not mandatory, except “if you with to work in the UK,” DIST says. Police will not be able to demand to see it. It will support private-sector interactions like age checks and opening a bank account, as will other forms of identification. It will be secured with “state-of the-art encryption a