Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has defended proposals that could see children as young as 13 required to have a digital ID, saying the move reflects modern realities where most young people already use forms of online identification.
Speaking to the media, Cooper was asked about the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s ongoing consultation on the proposal. She said the government was doing the right thing by moving toward a standardised system for verifying identity digitally.
“Everybody has forms of digital ID now, and We all have different ways of proving who we are,” she said
Lots of 13-year-olds already do, and what the department is consulting on is exactly how that should be taken forward.
The consultation forms part of a broader government plan to roll out a national digital identification system, announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month.
The digital ID would be used to confirm individuals’ right to work and access public services, replacing multiple existing checks with a single, secure system.
Critics have expressed concern that expanding the scheme to include teenagers could raise privacy and data protection issues, particularly around how personal information will be stored and used.
Civil liberties campaigners have also warned that the policy could normalise surveillance and government overreach.
However, Cooper insisted the initiative would help streamline bureaucratic processes while keeping people’s data secure.
“It’s about ensuring a standardised, safe, and fair process something we’ve already been implementing for people who come to work from abroad,” Cooper said.
The consultation will explore how digital IDs might function for minors and what safeguards should be in place. Findings are expected to inform the government’s final policy, which could be introduced later next year.
Meanwhile, in Wales, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said his party would bring new energy to the Senedd after 26 years of Welsh Labour rule, ahead of the party’s annual conference in Swansea.
