Digital ID to be developed within the public sector using a federated model
16/10/2025 | The Guardian
Ministers have launched a "charm offensive" to secure support from Labour MPs for the government's proposed digital ID scheme, asking them to contribute ideas on how it could improve public services. The approach is part of a broader effort to soothe political tensions and involved a meeting with technology minister Ian Murray and approximately fifty other MPs.
Ministers confirmed that there is a firm commitment to building the ID within the public sector, avoiding outsourcing to private companies. In addition, they clarified that it will likely be developed as a federated system, similar to the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), where data is distributed across multiple connected systems to minimise the risk of a single point of failure, thereby making it harder to hack the entire dataset.
It was also reported that Murray has ruled out the ID scheme being used to hold NHS data or for the police to demand to see it.
The primary concern raised by MPs during the session was the cost of the scheme, for which ministers could not provide an estimated figure. Some sources close to the process suggested that the cost calculations in the original Labour Together proposal, which informed the policy, were "laughably low" at £150 million. However, this figure was at the lower end of the forecast, with estimated upper costs reaching £400 million, plus annual administration fees of £5-10 million.
In related news, Murray commented that the launch of digital veteran cards could serve as a "case study" to demonstrate how such credentials function. As such, the initiative could help alleviate public concerns regarding mandatory IDs.
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