Monday 13th October 2025

(1 day, 21 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Liz Kendall Portrait Liz Kendall
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At the risk of repeating myself, costs will depend on exactly the design, build and delivery of the programme. We will set out further details. I think people would expect that those who work here have a right to do so. That is an important principle, and one that I am proud to support.

Andrew Pakes Portrait Andrew Pakes (Peterborough) (Lab)
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I welcome the statement and the consultation as a contribution towards modernising our public services. Constituents of mine are frustrated by how they cannot interact with the state. Alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White), I went on the recent trip to Tallinn, and I was struck by not just how digital identity could make things easier, but how it could drive the uptake of things like childcare and pension credit and actually provide a service to people. I was also taken by the fact that, in Tallinn, the identity system was developed to stop the overreach of the state, and civil liberties are built into it. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that control and data use are a real part of the consultation?