Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 92613 on Digital Technology: Identity Cards, whether Digital ID will be required for Digital Right to Work checks.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the Prime Minister has recently stated in the House of Commons, there will be checks. They will be digital and they will be mandatory.
We will consult on the technical details of how this will be implemented.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Digital ID on Right to Work checks.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the Prime Minister has recently stated in the House of Commons, there will be checks. They will be digital and they will be mandatory.
We will consult on the technical detail of how this will be implemented.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2025, to Question 97383, on Proof of Identity: Digital Technology, how an individual who declines to have a Digital ID Card will be able to complete the mandatory right to work check in the absence of a digital credential for the employee; and whether the employee will be able to continue to present analogue or hard copy documentation.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the Prime Minister has stated in the House of Commons, there will be checks. They will be digital and they will be mandatory.
We will consult on the technical detail of how this will be implemented.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what methods are available to allow Syrians who arrived under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme to demonstrate their (a) right to (i) work and (ii) study in the UK and (b) recourse to public funds.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Syrians resettled under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) were granted permission to work and recourse to public funds on arrival in the UK.
The UK has transitioned to a fully digital immigration system, replacing physical documents such as Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and visa vignettes with eVisas, which now serve as the primary proof of immigration status.
An eVisa shows an individual’s identity and immigration status, including right to work, rent or access public funds.
Individuals use their UKVI account to generate a share code to prove their status to employers, landlords or carriers, including when travelling.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the risks to the safety of Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders travelling through Hong Kong or mainland China of the transition from physical Biometric Residence Permits to the digital eVisa system.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
An eVisa is a digital record of a person's identity and their immigration permission in the UK, and any conditions which apply. As with biometric residence permits (BRPs), it is issued to enable a person to prove their status when travelling to the UK, including via third countries, and when living in the UK.
The transition from physical BRPs to eVisas does not create a risk for those travelling through mainland China or Hong Kong. Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders do not need to present their eVisa for this travel, since they do not require a UK immigration status for this purpose.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes have been made to (a) Cabinet Office, (b) Government Digital Service and (c) Government Communications Service guidance on the use of (i) HM Government and (ii) UK Government branding, including when the latter should be used rather than the former in publicity and communications since July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Since July 2024, guidance has been updated to reflect the new Royal Coat of Arms following the accession of His Majesty The King.
A strategic decision has been made to adopt "UK Government" as the primary identity for all public-facing communications.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether departments have been asked to make (a) operational and (b) efficiency savings to fund the new Digital ID programme.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Costs to departments in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlement.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she made of the cost to her Department of implementing the digital ID scheme since September 2024.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlement.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what specific reasonable adjustments are embedded in the digital benefit application interface to accommodate claimants with learning disabilities; and what percentage of those who failed (1) the identity verification, and (2) the work capability, online application stages in the past 12 months were identified as having a learning disability.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring that its digital benefit services, including the Universal Credit online claim, are accessible to all, in line with our duties under the Equality Act 2010. This includes making reasonable adjustments for people with learning disabilities so that they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when applying for support.
Universal Credit is designed as a modern digital service, with the online application structured in clear steps and using plain English, informed by user research and feedback. The questions presented are built dynamically based on the information the customer provides, so people only see the screens that are relevant to their circumstances, reducing complexity for those who may find long forms or highly technical language difficult to manage.
An Accessibility Statement link is also available at the bottom of each Universal Credit page. This explains how to access the service if extra support is needed, including how to ask for information in alternative formats or for additional help with managing the digital journey.
Customers who are unable to use the digital service can make a claim by telephone, and where they are unable to attend the jobcentre, a home visit can be arranged to undertake verification. Customers may also give explicit consent for a trusted third party to help manage their claim, or an appointee can be formally appointed to act on their behalf, with these arrangements recorded within the digital service.
The Department keeps the Universal Credit service under regular review and continues to work with stakeholders, disability organisations and people with lived experience to identify further improvements, including for customers with learning disabilities, to ensure that our services remain accessible and responsive to all.
With reference to the statistics requested, these are not readily available based on the requested parameters.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for employers and workers of the removal of the mandatory element from their plans for digital identification.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The national digital ID will not be mandatory for individuals to obtain. However, digital right to work checks will be mandatory by the end of the Parliament
Currently, for British and Irish citizens, many right to work checks are paper based. This is vulnerable to fraud and does not create a clear record of when and where checks have been carried out
The digital ID will provide a modern, secure and trusted way for people to prove who they are and access services across the public and private sectors
We will issue the new digital ID, for free, to everybody who wants one and has the right to be in the UK, including the around 10% of UK citizens without traditional forms of ID
We will be consulting imminently - in a range of ways – to ensure the introduction of Digital ID is as effective and inclusive as possible.