Digital identification cards will no longer be required to prove the right to work in the UK, after a significant policy adjustment by ministers. The reversal comes despite earlier pledges that digital IDs would be central to efforts to tackle illegal employment and immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The digital ID system, originally set to be rolled out by 2029<\/strong>, had been introduced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer <\/strong>as a tool to strengthen border security and modernise public services. But following pressure from within the Labour Party and growing public opposition, the government has decided to drop the scheme\u2019s only mandatory element, its use for employment verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development marks yet another in a series of recent policy shifts by the Labour government, which has also scaled back on reforms to business rates<\/strong> and inheritance tax.<\/strong> Though officials insist the digital ID proposal remains alive, the decision to make it fully voluntary represents a substantial departure from its initial design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to The Times<\/em>, the government has walked back on its plan to enforce digital IDs for proving the right to work, the only component of the scheme <\/a>that was ever set to be compulsory. While a digital verification process<\/strong> will still be used, it may involve standard documents such as passports or e-visas, rather than a purpose-built identity card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources within the government reportedly cited concerns that the mandatory element had become a flashpoint in public debate, and risked alienating those unfamiliar with digital technologies<\/strong>. \u201cWe do not want to risk there being cases of some 65-year-old in a rural area being barred from working because he hasn\u2019t installed the ID<\/em>,\u201d one official told The Telegraph<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRevised Plans Remove Only Binding Feature of Digital ID System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n