Ministerial statement on Tuesday, 10 March 2026, in the House of Commons, led by Darren Jones.

Digital ID: Public Consultation

Statement on launching a national conversation on how we will build and use digital ID as the means to access public services digitally on a mobile phone or computer.

Secondary information

Type: Parliamentary proceeding
Reference: 782 cc181-9
Session: 2024-26
Department: Cabinet Office
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Related items: Making public services work for you with your digital identity
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Command papers
House of Commons
House of Lords
Proceeding contributions: Darren Jones | 782 cc181-3 (Link to this contribution)
Today the Government are launching a national conversation on how we will build and use digital I...; Mike Wood | 782 cc183-5 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement and for the briefing a short time ago.; Darren Jones | 782 c185 (Link to this contribution)
I enjoyed the hon. Member’s response to the statement, and I thank him for lifting our spirit wit...; Chi Onwurah | 782 c185 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the Government’s decision to remove the mandatory element of digital ID, so that we can...; Darren Jones | 782 c185 (Link to this contribution)
I thank my hon. Friend for her question; the Government look forward to working with her and her ...; Lindsay Hoyle | 782 c185 (Link to this contribution)
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.; Lisa Smart | 782 cc185-6 (Link to this contribution)
I am grateful to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement. Le...; Darren Jones | 782 c186 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the hon. Lady and her colleagues for their engagement with the Government on this issue; ...; 782 c177 (Link to this contribution); Lindsay Hoyle | 782 c177 (Link to this contribution)
I hope to move on at 1.30 pm, because many Members wish to speak in the next debate, so if we cou...; Ian Lavery | 782 c177 (Link to this contribution)
The general public need to be on board with this or it will be a complete and utter failure. When...; Darren Jones | 782 c177 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is exactly right to call out the challenge of digital inclusion. We see in the pri...; Gavin Williamson | 782 c177 (Link to this contribution)
Before I purchase something at the supermarket, I want to know what the price is. The Minister se...; Darren Jones | 782 c187 (Link to this contribution)
The consultation asks many questions about how we should build, implement and roll out this syste...; Jo White | 782 c187 (Link to this contribution)
The state holds vast amounts of data on all of us from the moment we are born, some of which we n...; Darren Jones | 782 c187 (Link to this contribution)
My hon. Friend is exactly right. It is very difficult today to get information out of the public ...; Julian Lewis | 782 c187 (Link to this contribution)
When asked by the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) whether he could guarantee that a digi...; Darren Jones | 782 c187 (Link to this contribution)
First, the Prime Minister’s announcement was that it should be mandatory for digital verification...; Matt Bishop | 782 c187 (Link to this contribution)
Many people still have to repeatedly prove who they are to different parts of Government. Does th...; Darren Jones | 782 c178 (Link to this contribution)
That is exactly our ambition. We will all have constituents who struggle to get in touch with the...; Alistair Carmichael | 782 c178 (Link to this contribution)
I commend the Minister for admitting that he does not know how much this is going to cost, but it...; Darren Jones | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
Any costs incurred so far have been purely for civil servants to pull together the consultation a...; Emily Darlington | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
I am the mother of teenagers, and they cannot believe how difficult it is to access their data an...; Darren Jones | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
I very much agree with my hon. Friend. We have to remember that taxpayers pay for these public se...; Desmond Swayne | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
I am almost speechless! This House is the properly accountable people’s panel, not some collectio...; Darren Jones | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
No.; Johanna Baxter | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and the clarification that participation in the scheme...; Darren Jones | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
As the House would expect, I have been engaging with the First Ministers and Deputy First Ministe...; Brendan O'Hara | 782 c189 (Link to this contribution)
It seems that even in the middle of an existing cost of living crisis, with another one looming, ...; Darren Jones | 782 c189 (Link to this contribution)
There is a little irony in the SNP advising the Labour Government that we should spend more taxpa...; Samantha Niblett | 782 c189 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the Minister for announcing that there will be a public consultation, as I know that my c...; Darren Jones | 782 c189 (Link to this contribution)
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. The good news is that there will be a “Dear Colleagues” l...; Joy Morrissey | 782 c179 (Link to this contribution)
The Minister mentioned that there is no set budget, so is this a blank cheque for Government spen...; Darren Jones | 782 c179 (Link to this contribution)
The consultation is open to anyone and everyone, whatever view they hold, so I encourage the hon....; Lauren Sullivan | 782 c179 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the change to not demand a digital ID, and I welcome the focus of the work: listening t...; Darren Jones | 782 c190 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady is right that the grand idea is not just to improve public services, but to reduce ...; Steve Darling | 782 c190 (Link to this contribution)
I thank the more than 6,000 residents who signed a petition against mandatory digital ID. The sch...; Darren Jones | 782 c190 (Link to this contribution)
There have been some estimates that if we are able to harness the full benefit of the gov.uk app ...; Luke Charters | 782 c190 (Link to this contribution)
Before entering the House, I worked in tech building products to streamline ID checks, improving ...; Darren Jones | 782 c190 (Link to this contribution)
Childcare is a great example. To claim a 20% reduction in childcare fees, people must log into th...; Richard Tice | 782 c180 (Link to this contribution)
The public want faster, better public services, but the existing gov.uk app works very well—I sus...; Darren Jones | 782 c191 (Link to this contribution)
As I said in my statement, if people want to use online services, they can log into some websites...; Andrew Cooper | 782 c191 (Link to this contribution)
In Europe today, it is possible to have a prescription issued in Tallinn, Estonia, and have it fu...; Darren Jones | 782 c191 (Link to this contribution)
We are already in discussions with the European Commission on shared standards, primarily because...; David Mundell | 782 c191 (Link to this contribution)
My long experience is that the Scottish Government are quite prepared to ignore consultations, es...; Darren Jones | 782 c191 (Link to this contribution)
As I have said to the House, I have been in touch with Ministers in the Scottish Government just ...; Victoria Collins | 782 c182 (Link to this contribution)
I welcome the Government’s announcement that they have listened to the concerns of the Liberal De...; Darren Jones | 782 c185 (Link to this contribution)
Digital ID is the premium option of one login. In many ways, one login is a great system, but it ...; Bradley Thomas | 782 c185 (Link to this contribution)
My constituents have been incredibly vocal in telling me that they do not want this. Frankly, bec...; Darren Jones | 782 c185 (Link to this contribution)
I can confirm that the Government will not be doing any such thing.; Carla Lockhart | 782 c186 (Link to this contribution)
My constituency led the way on this issue, with more than 7,000 people signing the e-petition aga...; Darren Jones | 782 c186 (Link to this contribution)
The hon. Lady is wrong. I look forward to bringing provisions in the Bill later this year to prov...; Vikki Slade | 782 c186 (Link to this contribution)
Can the Chief Secretary tell us what happens if the 100-person panel concludes that the scheme wi...; Darren Jones | 782 c186 (Link to this contribution)
The outcomes of the deliberative democracy process will form a legal part of the consultation, so...; Iqbal Mohamed | 782 c193 (Link to this contribution)
Consistent polling has found that the public are not interested in digital ID and remain deeply c...; Darren Jones | 782 c193 (Link to this contribution)
I am happy to confirm that the digital ID scheme and its build in the gov.uk app will be built as...; Martin Wrigley | 782 c193 (Link to this contribution)
May I thank the Chief Secretary for his inclusion of the Science, Innovation and Technology Commi...; Darren Jones | 782 c193 (Link to this contribution)
Members of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee know that I look forward to working w...; Jim Allister | 782 c188 (Link to this contribution)
I suspect that my constituents will have at least these three concerns: that the digital ID schem...; Darren Jones | 782 cc188-194 (Link to this contribution)
On the question of mandation, I expect it will be on the front of the Bill coming to the House la...; Shockat Adam | 782 c194 (Link to this contribution)
My constituents are overwhelmingly against digital ID, and that appears to be the national consen...; Darren Jones | 782 c194 (Link to this contribution)
It is not for me to advise other Members on how to please their constituents, but if the hon. Gen...; Jim Shannon | 782 c194 (Link to this contribution)
There is a clear and growing concern across the United Kingdom, including with myself and my cons...; Lindsay Hoyle | 782 c189 (Link to this contribution)
Mr Shannon, you kept saying “you”. Am I the devil, or is it the Chief Secretary? [Laughter.]; Darren Jones | 782 c189 (Link to this contribution)
May I suggest some of the gospels that might be a little more uplifting for the hon. Gentleman to...
Subjects: Data protection Disadvantaged Software Digital technology Public sector Public consultation Proof of identity Electronic government Cybersecurity
Link: View this Parliamentary proceeding on hansard.parliament.uk

Digital ID: Public Consultation

Secondary information

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