Critics say the Prime Minister should be focused on “cutting GP waiting times and energy bills” instead of his “obsession” with digital ID.
The Prime Minister has reportedly ordered ministers to find savings in their departments (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ministers have been told to find savings in their departments to fund Sir Keir Starmer‘s controversial plan for compulsory digital ID cards, according to reports. Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, ordered ministers to scrimp together extra money to pay for the scheme in December, the costs of which are estimated to total £1.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) previously described the plan as a “major spending risk”, warning that Labour had not identified any way of paying for it. Chancellor Rachel Reeves also failed to make funding commitments in her latest Spending Review.
It left Mr Jones urging Government departments to outline cost-cutting proposals by January, reports suggest, drawing criticism from Opposition parties who slammed the savings scheme as “disgraceful”. Lisa Smart, spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats‘ Cabinet Office, said: “Rather than making cuts elsewhere so they can spend £1.8 billion on digital ID, they should be focusing on getting down GP waiting times and helping to cut people’s energy bills.”
Protests last autumn made the public reaction to the digital ID plans clear (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
She also attributed the “disgraceful” raid on “much-needed funds” to a Labour “obsession” with digital ID, which Number 10 insists will make it easier to identify illegal immigrants in the UK, as per The Telegraph.
The Government has disputed the OBR’s estimated figure of £1.8 billion, but admitted to the savings plan, which a Cabinet Office spokesperson said would only stem from “non-essential” programmes with “similar objectives” to the ID scheme.
Under the plans, a digital ID will be mandatory for working in the UK by 2029, subject to a consultation this year.
YouGov polling revealed that the scheme’s popularity sank measurably in the days after its announcement last September, dropping from 35% in the summer to -14%.
As well as attracting backlash from those afraid of widespread state control, campaigners have warned that it risks leaving older people who do not use the internet or have smartphones behind.
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices UK, said: “The failure of the Government to even think about the digitally excluded before announcing its compulsory digital ID plans shows utter contempt for the most vulnerable sections of the community.”
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “Digital ID will support public services to be more personal, joined-up and effective and help make Government more efficient. More broadly, analysis shows £45 billion in potential savings from the digitisation of public services.
“As the public would expect, departments were asked to identify funding from non-essential programmes with similar objectives to this work to deliver the programme efficiently, whilst continuing to prioritise funding for frontline services.”
