There has been a backlash to the announcement a UK-wide digital ID scheme will be introduced by 2029. Under the proposals, digital ID will be available for free to all UK citizens and legal residents. It will be mandatory only for those seeking employment, while remaining optional for students, pensioners and others not entering the workforce. Defending the plans to consider the inclusion of 13 to 16-year-olds in the scheme, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told LBC: "Everybody has forms of digital ID... We all have different ways of having to prove who we are.