Digital ID

Scope

We’re interested in evidence that will help the Committee to assess the following:

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If you need help to send us your evidence

We want everyone’s voice to be heard in Parliament. Please contact us if you find it difficult to send us your evidence online.

While the UK uses a range of digital identity services, it does not currently operate a national ID card or single citizen identifier scheme. In September 2025, the Prime Minister announced a new digital ID scheme, with a target to launch by the end of the current Parliament in 2029. In January 2026, it was further announced that digital ID would not be mandatory, but would become one of a number of ways in which people would be able to prove their right to work.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) scrutinised the GOV.UK Verify, the flagship digital programme for government, in 2019. Its report found that the system was failing its users, having missed all of its original performance targets. Members of the public using the system were hampered by a catalogue of problems, including difficulty signing up and accessing multiple government services. The Home Affairs Committee launched its own inquiry into harnessing the potential of new forms of digital ID in June 2025.

The National Audit Office (NAO) will be publishing the findings of its own report offering insights into digital identification and assessing the opportunities of the scheme.

Proceeding from the NAO’s work, the PAC will take evidence from witnesses including senior government officials, user groups and campaigners on topics including the purpose and necessity of digital ID in the UK, successes and challenges in previous approaches, and what lessons can be learned from other countries.

If you have evidence on these issues please submit it at the link below by 23:59 on Thursday 8 October 2026.

Evidence goes to the committee through Parliament’s own form. There is no way to submit it from here: Parliament publishes no API for written evidence, so the button above opens the committee’s page.

What you send is published under your name and can be quoted in the committee’s report. Keep it under 3,000 words, send it as a document rather than a letter in the body of an email, and answer the questions above rather than writing generally.