Digital ID: Public Consultation Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Cabinet Office

Digital ID: Public Consultation

Shockat Adam Excerpts
Tuesday 10th March 2026

(1 day, 11 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Darren Jones Portrait Darren Jones
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

On the question of mandation, I expect it will be on the front of the Bill coming to the House later this year that it is not mandatory. Should any Government in the future wish to change that, they will need to come back to this House to change the law in order to do so. That is the right and proper thing.

The hon. and learned Gentleman is right to have concerns, as we should in relation to any modern services, about cyber-security, hacking and the confidentiality and security of people’s data. That is precisely why we are building this in-house—in Government—with the National Cyber Security Centre as a sovereign capability to ensure that we are not reliant on external companies, whether they are in the UK or abroad, to cover those bases for us.

Shockat Adam Portrait Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
- View Speech - Hansard - -

My constituents are overwhelmingly against digital ID, and that appears to be the national consensus. Does the Chief Secretary agree that asking 100 members of the public to legitimise an already bad idea initially espoused by Tony Blair is a waste of time, resources and money? When will the Government go back to addressing issues that really matter to the public, such as the cost of living crisis?

Darren Jones Portrait Darren Jones
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

It is not for me to advise other Members on how to please their constituents, but if the hon. Gentleman asked his constituents, “Would you like better public services that are easier to use?”, they would probably say, “Yes.”