While I appreciate the concerns that some readers express about having a digital identity (Letters, 29 September), we currently have a system where our photo ID for many purposes is either a passport or a driving licence. In my varied community roles, I support many people in our community who have neither – they have never had the opportunity to learn to drive or to travel beyond our borders, normally due to a low income and lack of opportunity. In the past, this lack of documents was not an issue – passports were for travel and a driving licence to prove your ability to drive – but now they are used to log on to the Government Gateway website used for many services including the state pension and child benefit.
While there is supposed to be a route to log on without a driving licence or passport, no one in our very skilled team of community support workers has mastered it – and we don’t give up easily! One low-income parent we met needs to change the bank account that her child benefit is paid into, another wants to check their contributions towards the state pension – both require access to the Government Gateway, not a car or foreign travel. Both the real people in these examples (and I could find plenty of others) have a smartphone and share their personal data with Google every day. Neither possess a passport or a driving licence.
Digital ID may not be the perfect answer, but the current system isn’t perfect either. There is a need for ID that encompasses everyone.
Sandra Coleman
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
