What does the pledge mean?

In September 2025 the government announced plans to introduce a new digital ID scheme.

In a statement detailing the proposals in Parliament the following month, then-science, innovation and technology secretary Liz Kendall said “our digital ID… will be mandatory for right to work checks by the end of the Parliament”.

‘Right to work’ checks are checks that employers must carry out to ensure their staff are allowed to work in the UK, and aren’t disqualified from working due to their immigration status. These checks must take place before someone is employed.

British and Irish citizens can currently prove their right to work with their passports, birth or adoption certificates, or a certificate of naturalisation as a British citizen. Others can prove their right to work with immigration documents.

At the time the new digital ID scheme was announced, a government source confirmed to Full Fact that anyone wanting to work in the UK—including UK and non-UK citizens—would be required to have the new form of digital ID, which would be used by employers to check they have the right to work in the UK.

They also confirmed that people who were not working—for example, retirees—would not be required to have one.

The government said it wanted the scheme “in time” to make it “simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare” and streamline access to tax records, but confirmed to Full Fact that digital IDs would not be mandatory to access these services.

It said the digital ID would be held on people’s phones, and include their name, date of birth, information on their nationality or residency status, and a photo.

The standards, governance and oversight of digital ID services is already set out in law, and a pre-legislative pilot has been running since April 2021.

The deadline for this pledge is the end of the current parliament, which will run until, at the latest, July 2029.

What progress has been made?

We’re rating this pledge as ‘not kept’ as this scheme is no longer going ahead.

The government was clear in its initial proposals that the Digital ID specifically, as announced in September 2025, would be mandatory for right to work checks.

However, in January 2026 the government said that other forms of digital ID, including biometric passports, would also be accepted for these checks.

The Digital Access to Services Bill was included in the 2026 King’s Speech.

But shortly before he became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026, Andy Burnham confirmed his government would not be going ahead with the introduction of digital ID.

Mr Burnham reportedly intends to still introduce digital driving licences, but it’s not yet clear whether these will be accepted for right to work checks.

While Mr Burnham said before becoming PM that he will “work to the 2024 manifesto”, it’s worth noting that the digital ID scheme was not a manifesto commitment.