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Cabinet Office pinches digital ID responsibility from GDS
Prime minister Keir Starmer announces Cabinet Office will take over responsibility for the government’s new digital identity scheme
The Government Digital Service (GDS) has been told it must hand over responsibility for the government’s new digital identity scheme to Cabinet Office.
The scheme, announced by prime minister Keir Starmer in September 2025, will introduce a digital ID for all UK citizens and legal residents. It will be compulsory for Right to Work checks by the end of the current Parliament, and includes name, date of birth, nationality and residency status information, and a photo.
In a ministerial statement, prime minister Keir Starmer said that to “deliver this cross-government priority”, the Cabinet Office will now be in charge of the scheme, “including policy, development, legislation and strategic oversight”.
Computer Weekly understands that the prime minister has trusted his chief secretary, Darren Jones, with the overall responsibility for the scheme, and a small Cabinet Office taskforce will lead on the programme.
GDS, which sits under the Department for Science, Technology and Innovation (DSIT), and its technology minister Liz Kendall, will still be responsible for the design and build of the digital identity service.
When the current government came into power, it chose to move GDS from its old home at the Cabinet Office to DSIT. In January 2025, the government announced that DSIT would become the digital centre of government, expanding its remit and uniting digital transformation efforts under one command, bringing together experts in data, digital and artificial intelligence (AI), from GDS the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), and the Incubator for AI (iAI).
GDS staffers have been crucial in the development of the digital ID scheme so far. However, Computer Weekly understands that despite Cabinet Office taking over the digital identity programme, GDS will stay put in DSIT.
Some DSIT policy staff are expected to move to Cabinet Office as part of the transition, and a small number of specialist roles may be seconded to the department if needed, Computer Weekly understands.
While losing the overall digital ID programme to Cabinet Office, GDS will remain responsible for the Gov.uk One Login digital identity platform, as well as Gov.uk Wallet, which sits separate from the new programme.
When the government launched the Gov.uk Wallet in January 2025, then-tech secretary Peter Kyle announced that it would include a digital version of driving licences and Veteran Cards, the latter of which went live earlier in October 2025. However, by the end of 2027, it will include every government-issued credential, underpinned by the Gov.uk One Login digital identity platform.
The Digital ID will continue to build on this and, according to the government, will be available in the Wallet, alongside the digital driving licence.
One of the key benefits of introducing a digital ID, according to Starmer, is that it will help the government crackdown on illegal working and help control the country’s borders. However, the scheme has already been met with criticism.
How exactly the digital ID service will be delivered is not yet clear, but the government aims to launch a public consultation later this year.
Read more about government and digital identity
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- The digital version of the Veteran Card is the first government-issued document available in the Gov.uk One Login app, allowing veterans to use their smartphone to access discounts and services.
- Building the foundations: A national roadmap for digital identity and sovereign data: Now the UK government has offered some clarity on the future of private and public sector digital identity services, it's time to work together to put the essential foundations in place to make digital ID work.