9. Conclusions and Recommendations
Digital technologies do not exist in a vacuum but become woven into society in both predictable and unpredictable ways.
Digital ID is not simply a set of government digital projects or a money-saving plan—the way it is rolled out is a statement about our country, and who we are. How people are treated when crossing borders, accessing essential services in times of need, and obtaining fairness and justice in dealings with law enforcement and state officials are all foundational to our national character.
Our research shows that the UK is divided on many things that relate to digital ID. In particular, there is a generational split: in our survey results, younger people prioritise fairness and inclusion, while older people seek reassurance about law and order. No technology can solve those problems and spending £700m on digital ID will not persuade everyone to agree. Instead, the immediate infrastructure project is a social one—one that prioritises building trust in and between communities and different demographics, and shows responsiveness to public opinion. Placing divisive technologies over social divisions will not heal those rifts; in fact, they are likely to make them worse.
It is also vital that improving trust and safety for communities of colour and building social bonds is prioritised. High levels of concern from Black and Asian survey respondents about discrimination, social inclusion, and just treatment by the police point to a lack of safety. While public money does need to be saved, trust in this Government and across society also needs to be built and this will take time.
Overall, our research points to the fact that the Government strategy is pointing in a different direction to public preferences. Most people surveyed are relatively unworried about greater efficiency in public services; some want to see improvements to crime and fraud, many feel worried about the influence of big tech companies over daily life, and younger people—aged under 54—on balance want life to be a little simpler and fairer.
As such, we recommend that the Government move to bring the three existing digital ID programmes closer into line with public wishes. The following recommendations are practical, achievable steps that will increase transparency, improve cross-government collaboration, and help to build trust in the Government’s plans.
To ensure better governance, the Government should:
Improve transparency and communication by publishing a Cross-Department Digital ID Strategy, with full costings and a comprehensive political, economic, social, and technological risk assessment; this should be subject to scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee.
Put in place Ministerial accountability for the multiple and overlapping social and community impacts and outcomes of digital ID. As implementation is cross departmental, we recommend this duty sits in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government; this post should also have responsibility for ensuring that effective monitoring and redress measures are in place and that ongoing relationships with relevant civil society groups are fostered and maintained.
To recognise social plurality, the Government should:
Undertake an annual tracker study, backed up with deep qualitative research, that builds: a fine-grained understanding of different demographic and community needs, a reliable picture of ongoing changes to social attitudes; and a record of the unfolding challenges and changes created by digital ID. This should be commissioned by the MHCLG minister with oversight for digital ID, and the results should be made publicly available.
There is high demand for a voluntary, government-backed form of identity that people can use to prove their identity to private sector entities, including banks, landlords, and retailers. To deliver this we recommend that One Login is extended and made available for use beyond government services; to ensure this happens in a privacy and rights- protecting way, we recommend the existing Identity Assurance Principles for Identity Services in Government are put on a statutory footing in the forthcoming Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, overseen by the One Login Privacy Advisory Group.