UK gov’t can still save digital ID plan despite poor initial policy, communication

The UK government’s digital ID plan was not backed by robust policy development based on clear evidence when it was revealed last September, and the premature announcement undermined the trust of the general public, as well as private sector stakeholders, according to a Home Affairs Select Committee report.

The Committee slammed the government for poor timing and communication with its digital ID announcement, noting it reduced support for the notion in a report released Wednesday. While the government’s policy and communication efforts have improved, “there is still a long way to go to undo the damage of the initial announcement, and the government is yet to demonstrate that it has the capacity to implement a complicated programme of this nature.”

“Mandatory to manageable: the government’s plans for digital ID” seems like an aspirational report title, given these criticisms. And they are not the only ones.

“As well as learning from early mistakes in the announcement of this strategy, it must be mindful of long-term failures in government delivery of IT delivery,” says Dame Karen Bradley, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee. “Each element of its future digital ID strategy must have clearly defined aims, a comprehensive plan for delivery and strong safeguards. Any future mistakes might prove fatal for public confidence.”

Home Affairs launched its inquiry in between the publication by Labour Together of a paper widely reported to influential in or a reflection of the government’s plan, and the ill-fated announcement by PM Kier Starmer on in late-September of last year. The inquiry shifted focus at that point to the stated plan, with a corresponding focus on right to work checks.

The review notes the consistent opposition of the digital verification services, and representative groups like the ADVP and AVPA, and the launch of public outreach like the public consultation and People’s Panel only after the government had sparked outrage by announcing its intention without being able to answer basic questions about it.

The Select Committee arrives at eight conclusions and seven recommendations.

Public and private pitchforks out

The initial announcement did not include any preparation of the public, so undermined existing popular support. Government digital transformation has a poor track record in the UK, a track record which was the first point of reference for a public in the wake of the rushed announcement. Clear cost estimates and benefits forecasts with a detailed implementation roadmap could help.

The treatment of the UK’s £2 billion private sector for DVSs was just as tone-deaf and clashed with existing policy, the report says. The government has improved its engagement, but incompletely enough that it “still risks missing out on the value of this expertise” if it is closed-minded about roles.

Data security concerns must be addressed to encourage widespread adoption. The government’s commitments to data minimization and not creating a centralized digital ID database are a good start.

Right to work properly

The government failed to ask about the implication of its policy that UK citizens working in the Kingdom would be required to hold a passport or a digital ID, and its right to work policy should be redeveloped based on engagement with the general public, which may need easier access to whatever ID documents are required.

The Committee accepts that right to work checks can be improved, but also states that frontline enforcement or employment rules cannot be replaced. The government needs to explain what resources it is putting into enforcement, and how enforcement will be enabled by the intelligence digital right to work checks yield.

Companies that discover through digital checks that prospective employees do not appear to have the right to work in the UK find they cannot share the information, so the system has obvious room for improvement without any policy change on the checks themselves.

For non-citizens, eVisas could be transferred into the digital ID system, while the problems that plagues the eVisa system’s setup can also provide some lessons for the UK’s digital ID plans.

A reversal: obscure public service benefit hinders digital ID delivery

The Committee grants the potential to improve public service delivery through digital ID, but points out that key details like which public services may be integrated have not been proposed, let alone debated.

At the same time, the government has already acknowledged that the digital ID scheme should only be expanded with proper scrutiny. The Committee recommends legislation that sets safeguards against purpose creep, and consider reconvening a “People’s Panel” for future expansion proposals.

Modernized public services are the prize digital ID will deliver according to the King’s Speech, but no further details were provided.

The lesson of making clear what public services will be easier to access to gin up support for digital ID has already been learned elsewhere, with Ethiopia, Brazil and even neighboring Ireland serving as prominent examples and adaptable blueprints.

Reaction and anticipation

The Tony Blair Institute Director of Government Innovation Alexander Iosad said in a statement emailed to Biometric Update that while the government fumbled its explanation of the benefits digital ID can deliver, “it spurred an important public debate.”

The public supports digital ID, especially when given practical examples of how it can hep them. “The government now has the opportunity to make the case for a distinctly British model of digital ID. Not a silver bullet or a dystopian surveillance tool, but a common-sense solution to the everyday frustrations people experience when dealing with the state,” Iosad writes.

“I — along with many across the industry — hope we can move beyond the divisions of the past year and return to constructive discussions about GROWING an inclusive,  privacy-preserving, and trustworthy digital identity infrastructure for the UK,” ADVP Chair David Crack posted to LinkedIn.

Iosad and Crack debated the future of UK digital id on the Biometric Update Podcast last December. Crack revisited the topic last month with Phil Booth, the national coordinator of the NO2ID campaign.

More reports are coming, including one from the Public Accounts Committee, as well as the response to the consultation and People’s Panel, which will be published in late-June at earliest.

And there is no guarantee PM Starmer will be in office by then.

Article Topics

ADVP  |  biometrics  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  digital identity  |  Tony Blair Institute  |  UK  |  UK digital ID