Hold a referendum on introducing mandatory identity cards in the UK

We urge the Government to hold a referendum on any proposal to introduce identity cards, including the proposed “BritCard.” We oppose the implementation of a mandatory national identity card system, as we believe it could risk turning personal identification into a tool for state control.

We urge the Government and Parliament to continue to allow freedom of speech and freedom of movement which are protected under the Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporates rights from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law. We believe the “BritCard” could contravene this.

The Government will not introduce a scheme called “BritCard”. However, the Prime Minister has recently announced we are working on a national, UK-wide digital identity scheme. It will not be a card, but a digital pass which will be fit for the needs of a modern UK, and will be fully compliant with our international legal and human rights obligations. The pass will be mandatory for right to work checks, but not otherwise compulsory. We will launch an extensive public consultation in the coming weeks.

We are committed to making people’s everyday lives easier and more secure, to putting more control in their hands (including over their own data), and to driving growth through harnessing digital technology. We also want to learn from countries which have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens, in line with our manifesto commitment to modernise government.

Currently, when UK citizens and residents use public services, start a new job, or, for example, buy alcohol, they often need to present an assortment of physical documents to prove who they are or things about themselves. This is both bureaucratic for the individual and creates space for abuse and fraud. This includes known issues with illegal working and modern slavery, while the fragmented approach and multiple systems across Government make it frustrating for people to access vital services. Further, there are too many people who are excluded, like the 1 in 10 UK adults who don’t have a physical photo ID, so can struggle to prove who they are and access the products and services to which they are entitled.

To tackle these interlinked issues, we will introduce a new national digital pass which will be available for free to all UK citizens and legal residents aged 16 and over. Over time, people will be able to use it to seamlessly access a range of public and private sector services, with the aim of making our everyday lives easier and more secure.

The new scheme will build on GOV.UK One Login and the GOV.UK Wallet to drive the transformation of public services. Over time, this system will allow people to access government services – such as benefits or tax records – without needing to remember multiple logins or provide physical documents. It will significantly streamline interactions with the state, saving time and reducing frustrating paperwork, while also helping to create opportunities for more joined up government services. International examples show how beneficial this can be. For instance, Estonia’s system reportedly saves each citizen hours every month by streamlining unnecessary bureaucracy, and the move to becoming a digital society has saved taxpayer money.

By the end of this Parliament, employers will have to check the new digital pass when conducting a ‘right to work’ check. This will help combat criminal gangs who promise access to the UK labour market to profit from dangerous and illegal channel crossings. It will create a fairer system between UK citizens and legal residents, crack down on forged documents, and streamline the process for employers, driving up compliance. Further, it will create business information showing where employers are conducting checks, so driving more targeted action against employers who aren’t playing by the rules.

For clarity, it will not be a criminal offence to not hold a digital pass and police will not be able to demand to see a digital pass as part of a “stop and search”.

Privacy and security will be central to the new national digital pass scheme. We will follow data protection law and best practice in creating a system which people can rightly put their trust in. Many of us already trust our money with online banking. The new system will be built on similar technology, using advanced security and encryption, and be your boarding pass to government. Digitally checkable digital credentials are more secure than physical documents which can be lost, copied or forged, and often mean sharing more information than necessary for a given transaction. The new system will be designed in accordance with the highest security standards, working with the National Cyber Security Centre and the foremost experts, to protect against a comprehensive range of threats, including cyber-attacks.

We have no plans to hold a referendum on the new digital pass scheme. There will be other ways to join a national conversation about digital identity, and we’re keen to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to contribute their views. We will launch an extensive public consultation in the coming weeks and work closely with employers, trade unions, devolved administrations, civil society groups and other stakeholders, to design the scheme and ensure it is as secure and inclusive as possible, learning from other countries with such schemes. Following consultation, we will seek to bring forward legislation to underpin this system that will protect security, privacy and civil liberties.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology