"Former military personnel will be used to test and refine the government's divisive digital ID scheme from Friday, when ministers make a smartphone-based veteran card available to 1.8 million people. The proof of service, which in its current physical version gives access to charities, retail discounts and certain public services, will be the first of a series of official credentials the government wants to let people carry in a government app. Digital driving licences will be in development by the end of this year and by the end of 2027, digital versions of every government-issued credential including disclosure and barring checks will be offered for voluntary use, officials said."
"Keir Starmer wants to make carrying a digital ID mandatory for anyone wanting or needing to prove their right to work in the UK by the end of this parliament. That plan sparked cross-party opposition and a 2.9 million-signature petition calling for it to be dropped. But the technology secretary, Liz Kendall, this week complained of scaremongering and said digital IDs would not be used to track citizens and there will be no pooling of people's private information into a single, central dataset."
"Ministers hope the digital veteran card will show how the technology works and quash public concerns about privacy and security. Kendall said it will help remove barriers, reduce red tape and make it easier for people to access the public services they need. The Royal British Legion, the veterans' charity that sells poppies, called the card a positive development and said it could improve access to services and benefits for the armed forces communities. But other veterans oppose it. Stephen Kent, the media director of Veterans Association UK, a small not-for-profit members' group, said: We don't need it. It's not for what Labour says it's for . A lot of veterans don't like the idea of it"
A smartphone-based veteran card will be offered to 1.8 million former military personnel to test and refine a government digital ID scheme. The existing physical proof of service grants access to charities, retail discounts and certain public services. The veteran card will be the first credential in a government app, with digital driving licences in development this year and all government-issued credentials offered digitally for voluntary use by the end of 2027. A plan to mandate digital IDs for right-to-work checks provoked cross-party opposition and a large petition. Officials deny plans to track citizens or pool private data centrally. Responses from veterans are mixed.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]