At Cabinet Office questions today (4 December 2025), Toby Perkins MP asked the Minister about how the introduction of digital identification will help clamp down on illegal working and immigration.

You can read the full transcript below and watch Toby’s question here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/a98af68b-7c25-4622-8ad1-7a880b5fa09c?in=09:41:27

Toby Perkins MP: Thank you Mr. Speaker. Britain has a proud track record of providing refuge for people fleeing persecution and war. But when tens of thousands of people are travelling across many safe countries to get here, it’s clear that the criminal gang sales pitch that Britain’s an easy place to find illegal work, is working. Can my hon. Friend tell me how digital ID will help us smash those criminal gangs and tackle the scourge of illegal work?

Josh Simons MP, The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office: Around the world and across Europe, countries use digital checks to evaluate whether someone has a legal right to work, but we do not. While we have brilliant digital verification tools, millions of checks use unreliable paper-based systems based on passports, birth certificates and other forms of evidence. This leaves too much room for fraud and, crucially, creates the perception that our country has weaker regimes for combating illegal working. Digitising checks will enable digital auditing of employers and more enforcement, bringing our illegal working regime in line with international peers and helping to deliver on one of our top priorities: reducing illegal migration.