UK Digital ID Advisory Group will not publish minutes, disclose budget details

Suddenly, the UK government is not so keen to talk about digital ID. New questions about its Digital ID Advisory Group have been met with reticence from members, who say the group is not a decision-making body, and therefore has no obligation to publish its minutes.

Three questions from Conservative MP Andrew Snowden got the stonewall treatment. In addition to asking whether the minutes would be published, Snowden also asked what criteria were used to select members of the Digital ID Advisory Group, and what budget has been allocated to support its work.

The response from Labour MP James Frith is the same for all three: “the running of the Digital ID Advisory Group will be supported by the Cabinet Office’s existing Digital ID Task Force. The Group is not a decision-making body and minutes will not be published.”

This is not the statement of a government committed to transparency – nor is it that of a government that believes its digital ID plan still has legs. National ID campaigns in the UK have been closely associated with political leaders. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair is still reviled in some parts for his push for mandatory national ID, and his institute’s ongoing lobbying in support of digital ID. The recent digital ID plan may find itself circling the drain after the resignation of Keir Starmer as prime minister: a signature policy piece tethered to the fate of its primary proponent.

New PM could mean new policy on digital ID

An article in The Register quotes Snowden, who calls Frith’s response “disappointing to say the least.”

“Digital ID was a deeply controversial policy when Keir Starmer announced it, causing one of the many U-turns that led to the situation we are in today. If the government are persisting with developing a system of digital ID then scrutiny of that policy by Members of Parliament is vital. To ignore key questions will not increase public support for digital ID.”

Andy Burnham, the Manchester mayor set to replace Starmer as PM, has previously voiced opposition to the digital ID plan, raising concerns about “an opportunity cost situation, where something can consume a huge amount of time and actually doesn’t come through.”

So far, that’s the story of digital ID in the UK – on the public side. Meanwhile, private biometrics and identity firms certified under the UK’s Digital Verification Services (DVS) trust framework continue to advocate for a major role in any digital ID scheme the UK chooses to advance. A key argument from the Association of Digital Verification Professionals (ADVP) has been the clear financial logic in tapping a digital ID ecosystem that has already been paid for and established a user base, rather than starting from scratch.

Politicians are always eager to distinguish themselves from their predecessors, and Burnham’s view would seem to add credence to the notion that a big government spend on digital ID is money misplaced, if not wasted. Assuming he takes the UK’s top job, it will be up to the digital identity sector and those advocating for certified DVS providers to convince him that a functional digital ID solution is sitting right under his nose.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  DVS Trust Framework  |  government services  |  UK digital ID