Comment by graemep
1 month ago
I am a bit confused about this. Is that a list of things you needed to open a bank account? Or a list of things for which you needed to show ID?
I am not sure a government digital ID would help with dealing with businesses.
Right to rent is a stupid and useless bit of bureaucracy which encourages racism - its much easier for landlords not to rent to someone who looks or sounds foreign, especially at the bottom end of the market where people might not have passports.
Edit: I should have said something like discrimination on grounds of race or national origin. The landlords are not motivated by a desire to discriminate, but to avoid have to carry out checks, especially if they do not understand the requirements with regard to visas - easier just to let to someone who (they think!) is definitely British.
> I am not sure a government digital ID would help with dealing with businesses.
A central gov ID means that, for example, the bank don't ask for proof of address by requesting months of utility bills,
> Right to rent is a stupid and useless bit of bureaucracy
It can be abused but arguably serves a purpose. Landlords can already just refuse foreign-looking tenants if they want.
> I am not sure a government digital ID would help with dealing with businesses.
I am pretty sure it would if it was allowed to. Once businesses have one usable source of ID and/or residence, they don't have to create and maintain elaborate alternative ways of establishing this information.
I come from a country where there is a national ID and lived in the UK for a while (before there was any form of electronic registration of foreign workers). I facepalmed everytime I had to interact with a business requiring ID or address, or with the government. This is a long-solved problem and they refuse to use the known, good, solution. They even managed to make a national ID into law around 2010 and then scrape it a year or so later when a new government came into power. I still can't believe it.