We have responded to the Cabinet Office consultation on digital ID, emphasising the importance of strong governance, robust safeguards and clear communication to any potential digital ID system.
A well-designed digital ID system has the potential to improve how data is linked across public services, addressing longstanding challenges around the effective use of administrative data for analysis, evaluation and official statistics. The Covid‑19 pandemic illustrated how critical effective data linkage can be for timely analysis and policy responses, while also exposing the costs of fragmented systems, inconsistent identifiers and barriers to data sharing. Secure identification and matching across services could therefore improve both user experience and public sector efficiency, ensuring that information is updated consistently and reducing the need for repeated interactions.
The role of public confidence
However, these potential benefits are closely tied to public confidence. Digital ID will shape the wider UK data landscape, influencing not only administrative data but also surveys and official statistics. Trust, data linkage and data quality are deeply interconnected: if trust declines, people may be less willing to share data or engage with services, undermining representativeness and the reliability of statistics. This risk is not evenly distributed. Groups that are already less engaged with public services or more sceptical about data use are likely to be most affected, potentially amplifying existing biases in data and weakening the inclusiveness of evidence used in decision making.
The right context
The context in which digital ID is introduced also matters. Announcements linking digital identity to politically sensitive issues, such as illegal migration, risk shaping public perceptions in ways that could make trust harder to build. To counter this, communication must clearly emphasise the broader public benefits of digital ID, alongside assurances about voluntariness and strong safeguards. Without this, there is a danger that the programme becomes associated primarily with enforcement or compliance, which may entrench scepticism and hinder wider acceptance.
Ethics and data protection
Ethical considerations are central to the system’s design. Proportionality must guide decisions about data collection and use, ensuring that information is used only where justified. Transparency is equally important. This should go beyond explaining what data is used at the point of service delivery to include clear information about how digital ID data may be used across government, the protections in place, and the public value such uses are intended to deliver. It is also essential to distinguish between operational uses of identity data and statistical or research uses, which operate under different principles and protections.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of a digital ID system depends not only on technical design but on whether it strengthens or weakens the foundations of public trust. Careful attention to governance, ethical safeguards and inclusive communication will be critical to ensuring that digital identity supports better data use across government without compromising confidence.
Read our full response here.