# Digital ID mandatory for right to work checks

> “Digital ID will be mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of the Parliament.”
>
> — Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister, Labour Party; Press release (Prime Minister's Office), 26 September 2025

- **Status:** Not met
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Running government](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/running-government)
- **Speaker:** [Sir Keir Starmer](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/keir-starmer), Prime Minister
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 26 September 2025
- **Where:** Press release (Prime Minister's Office)
- **Deadline:** 1 July 2029
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** Everyone working in the UK and their employers
- **When:** By the end of the Parliament that first met on 9 July 2024 (taken as by 1 July 2029)
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-digital-id-scheme-to-be-rolled-out-across-uk (checked word for word at its source on 20 October 2026; Open Government Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 21 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-digital-id-right-to-work-2029

## Where it stands

On 15 January 2026 a Cabinet Office minister told the Commons that nobody would have to have a digital ID and that the government would require right to work checks to be done digitally. The King's Speech of 13 May 2026 promised a Bill for digital ID, but none was introduced. On 21 July 2026 the new Prime Minister's government cancelled the £1.8 billion digital ID programme to pay for a tax cut on household electricity bills, and a Home Office minister said on 7 September 2026 that the proposals are no longer being taken forward. The promise was officially abandoned, so it reads Not met before its deadline.

## Timeline

- 26 September 2025, Promised: The Prime Minister announces a free digital ID, mandatory for right to work checks by the end of the Parliament
- 13 May 2026, In plan: The King's Speech says ministers will proceed with the introduction of digital ID ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-kings-speech-2026))
- 21 July 2026, Not met: The government cancels the £1.8 billion digital ID programme to fund a cut in tax on electricity bills ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-pm-cuts-tax-on-household-electricity-bills-to-give-breathing-space-on-cost-of-living))
- 1 July 2029, Deadline (to come): Digital ID was due to be mandatory for right to work checks by the end of the Parliament (editorial date)

## About the cost

No cost was given with the promise. When it cancelled the programme, the government put its cost at £1.8 billion over the next three years (21 July 2026).

Costing sources:
- [New PM cuts tax on household electricity bills to give breathing space on cost of living (21 Jul 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-pm-cuts-tax-on-household-electricity-bills-to-give-breathing-space-on-cost-of-living)

## Sources

- [Prime Minister's Office: New digital ID scheme to be rolled out across UK (26 Sep 2025)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-digital-id-scheme-to-be-rolled-out-across-uk)
- [Hansard, House of Commons, 15 Jan 2026: Digital ID (urgent question)](https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-01-15/debates/04B89325-7FA2-4541-946D-6E5571AEAAE4/DigitalID)
- [Prime Minister's Office: The King's Speech 2026 (13 May 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-kings-speech-2026)
- [Prime Minister's Office, HM Treasury and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: New PM cuts tax on household electricity bills to give breathing space on cost of living (21 Jul 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-pm-cuts-tax-on-household-electricity-bills-to-give-breathing-space-on-cost-of-living)
- [Hansard, House of Commons, 7 Sep 2026: Draft Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) (Amendment) Order 2026](https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-09-07/debates/752937F2-4C9C-4291-9CBA-8A658B99BB50/DraftLicensingAct2003(MandatoryLicensingConditions)(Amendment)Order2026)

## Checks

- Verified by Pavel Guzhikov, checked by AI Journalist; approved on 21 October 2026.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 20 October 2026.

---

LedgerGov.UK's own writing (headlines, status notes, cost notes, summaries) is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse it, crediting LedgerGov.UK with a link to the card. Official figures are under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) unless their source says otherwise; quotes from Parliament under the [Open Parliament Licence v3.0](https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/); other quotes are short extracts whose rights stay with the speaker. How the numbers and statuses are made: https://ledgergov.uk/method.