Digital ID

Debate between Ben Obese-Jecty and Josh Simons

Thursday 15th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Josh Simons]

Talking and listening to people is what I believe in. That is why we will be launching a major public consultation and will be out across the country talking to people about their frustrations with the public services that the Conservative party left to rot for 14 years. We will build the public goods and the digital infrastructure we need to fix them.

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

The Minister talks about mandatory right-to-work checks in a way that implies it is always the worker who is the bad faith actor in the relationship. Will he explain how mandatory right-to-work checks will be used to check employers, who are often the guilty party for employing people illegally? Will he outline what other agencies will have access to the database in a passive way—that is, without having been asked to provide an individual’s ID—to work out what is going on?

[Josh Simons]

There was quite a lot in the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I will do my level best to answer it. Digital right-to-work checks will make it easier for those who have a digital ID to prove their right to work. Crucially, it will make it easier for employers to check people’s right to work. That will benefit our economy. When a digital right-to-work check is done, it creates a record. That is a key piece of information that this Government will use, alongside the other ways we are toughening up our illegal working regime, to ensure we are enforcing against employers who are undercutting British workers by hiring people illegally.