Age UK responds to new digital Government ID scheme to be rolled out across UK

Caroline Abrahams CBE, Charity Director at Age UK said: "Many other similar countries already have ID cards so it's no surprise that the UK is considering following suite, but if this initiative is to be successful and fair the Government must also step up and be much more intentional about digital inclusion. It's not just the millions of older people who aren't internet savvy or online at all who are losing out from the rush towards digital everything, it's also the estimated 8.5 million adults of working age^[i] who struggle with reading and writing and who are unlikely to thrive in a digital world.

"This announcement about ID Cards arguably signals that we've reached a tipping point so far as the shift towards digital is concerned, though even without it that moment was drawing near. From the NHS to parking, interacting with Government services to banking, computer enabled approaches are increasingly the norm and there's no turning back. However, rather than an orderly transition to a new digital world we're seeing something more like the Gold Rush, with technical design that varies from the excellent to the risible and with no serious or joined up efforts to help those being cut adrift. 

"There will always be some people, of all ages, who for various reasons do not use computers so there will be a continuing need to provide good offline alternatives. However, we could reduce the numbers who depend on them with a Government-led and co-ordinated programme so those who want to go online can do so. More fundamentally, there is a responsibility on decision-makers to ensure that everyone benefits from the advance of technology, whether they are digital natives or not. This means developing so-called 'assisted digital' approaches too. 

"The sprint towards digital by default is chaotic, unfair and inefficient and it's only with Government leadership that we've any chance of getting the best from it and sharply reducing the numbers who feel totally excluded, among them millions of older people. If digital ID cards are coming this really must change."   

-ENDS-