Keir Starmer’s digital ID scheme faces fresh setback as cabinet ministers revolt

A Government source revealed that Mr Streeting signalled his opposition almost as soon as the plans were unveiled.

"Almost immediately after the plans were announced, Wes made it clear that he would not be providing NHS data for the project," the source said, citing the department's focus on overhauling its own NHS app.

Ms Phillipson similarly pushed back against involving her department, according to government sources.

However, an ally of the Education Secretary disputed this characterisation, per The Times.

The fresh ministerial mutiny comes ahead of public consultation on the digital ID policy, which is set to begin on Tuesday.

The consultation will outline various potential applications for the digital ID app, including enabling parents to obtain digital identities for newborn babies to simplify access to services.

The digital ID project has already been significantly scaled back from its original ambitions.

When Sir Keir first unveiled the plans in September, he stated the technology would become mandatory for right-to-work checks as part of efforts to combat illegal immigration.

However, this compulsory element was dropped at the start of the year, with workers now permitted to use alternative documents for online identity verification.

The initiative has also lost its ministerial champion. Josh Simons, the Cabinet Office minister responsible for overseeing the scheme, was forced to step down from his position.

Mr Simons previously led Labour Together, the think tank that was discovered to have commissioned research examining journalists' backgrounds.

Despite setting a target for full implementation by the end of the parliament in 2029, Government sources privately acknowledge this deadline is unlikely to be achieved.

Technical obstacles have also continued to mount. The NHS app will remain entirely separate from the digital ID system, with no integration of health data planned.

Efforts to include council tax functionality have also stalled due to the patchwork of incompatible systems used by different local authorities across the country.

Officials have also explored incorporating council tax payments into the app, though varying systems across local authorities have complicated these discussions.

Nevertheless, ministers have argued that the initiative would give citizens greater control over their personal data whilst bringing public services in line with the digital offerings of banks and retailers.

"People are fed up to their back teeth of having to fill in paper forms and repeat themselves five times to different parts of government," a government source said.

They argued that public services have fallen behind the private sector's digital transformation.

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