Josh Simons MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Feb 2026 · Project Gigabit: Rural Areas · Hansard source

  More

  As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton), we are currently looking at how we can further enable alternatives to fibre access, such as satellites and fixed wireless access. I am sure that the Minister for Digital Government will be happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss the specific issues in her constituency, as he would be for my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Project Gigabit: Rural Areas · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to press this issue. Project Gigabit delivers gigabit-capable broadband to parts of the UK that are unlikely to be reached by the commercial market alone. However, as Project Gigabit extends its coverage, it will increasingly also cover properties that already have superfast availability. For premises located in very hard-to-reach areas, we are continuing to explore how Government can further enable alternatives to fibre connections, such as through satellites and fixed wireless access. I urge my hon. Friend to remind his constituents that, through the broadband universal service obligation, consumers always have a right to a decent broadband connection of at least 10 megabits per second of download speed.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Project Gigabit: Rural Areas · Hansard source

  More

  I am answering today on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Digital Government, who is away on other duties. As of September 2025, more than 1.3 million premises in rural and hard-to-reach communities across the UK have already been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through Government-funded programmes. More than 1 million premises are included in the £2.4 billion-worth of signed Project Gigabit contracts. That includes a £175 million contract with Openreach to deliver gigabit-capable broadband across Scotland, including approximately 8,300 premises in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Digital Identity Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend has deep experience of these challenges, and she is absolutely right: the reason why digital ID is so vital to the future of our public services and government is all about data. That will become ever more important in the future age of artificial intelligence. When I worked in AI, we had a saying: “garbage in, garbage out”. Bad data management produces bad public services, and that is why my colleagues in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have a massive programme across Government to upgrade and secure data for the benefit of ordinary citizens.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Digital Identity Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  Absolutely. By the end of this Parliament, every UK citizen who wants a digital ID will be able to get one free of charge. To deliver that, we will launch a huge digital inclusion drive across the UK, and I look forward to working with hon. Members from across the House on that, including my hon. Friend. Like Estonia, we will build the UK system to earn citizens’ trust, adhering to the principles of data minimisation and decentralisation with strong safeguards in place. We will consult imminently on how best to design that system.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Digital Identity Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  A new digital identity system is a vital part of the infrastructure that the UK needs to transform public services and accelerate digital government. As my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister said this week, our goal is simple: to make government work better for people by joining up public services so that people do not have to fight to get the support that they need. It will be inclusive, secure and useful, and will give people more control over their data and public services than they have now.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Digital Identity Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  We are building a digital ID system because it is the infrastructure that we need for the foundation of the British state and better public services in years to come. I am proud that we as a Government are investing the time and resources to improve government and make it work better for people so that it is easier to access public services. We are doing the hard work that Government should do rather than expecting people to do it for themselves. I hope that hon. Members from Opposition parties will come to see the force of that argument for their constituents.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Digital Identity Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  It has not been. Digitising right-to-work checks is a vital part of how we will toughen up our illegal labour market enforcement regime. It will mean that this Government are cracking down on illegal working, reducing the pull factors and delivering on one of our key commitments, which is to crack down on illegal migration.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  As with so many things, the previous Government gave up, accepted fraud as inevitable, and stopped tackling it properly. By contrast, this Government are delivering the most significant package of measures to tackle fraud and error in recent history. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that those measures will deliver £14.6 billion of savings by 2030.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I can confirm three things in response to the different elements of the hon. Lady’s question. First, she mentions consent. The system itself will be based on consent; it will ask people for their consent in how their data is shared and used, and she will see more about that in the coming weeks. Secondly, there will be strong safeguards on how data is used in the future implementation of the scheme in the legislation that we will bring forward. Thirdly, she may know that I believe strongly in this country’s sovereignty. British sovereignty will be at the heart of the scheme, and British tech companies will be supported by it, so foreign companies will not be subject to procurement in the usual way.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my fellow Greater Manchester MP for that question. My constituents also want easier access to public services, and they are fed up with having to fight a system that should be working harder for them. That is what this scheme is about—making Government work better for ordinary people. I can confirm that the roll-out of the digital ID will involve one of the largest digital inclusion drives ever. We will not accept the status quo, in which millions of people in this country are digitally excluded and ID excluded. We will ensure that we go to physical spaces, such as public libraries and post offices, so that everyone can access the benefits of this scheme, if they want to.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I, for one, want to hear from people before key digital products are designed. Good product design is based on what is useful for people, which is why we will have a major consultation in coming weeks, in which we will get out across the country, engage with people, and get them engaging with digital government. That way, we can learn exactly how to build this system in a way that ensures that it is trusted, useful and secure.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  Digital ID cards will be rolled out by the end of this Parliament, and will be free to everyone who wants one. The Prime Minister was clear that this is a basis for transforming public services, joining up government and making government work better. That is exactly what we are about—building public services that ordinary working people benefit from—and that is what the programme will help us to do.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  Members will see more details about the costings in a very few weeks in the consultation. To be very clear: no, this Government do not recognise the figures in the OBR’s estimate, because the crucial design choices about how to make the scheme work for ordinary people will be made after the consultation and after we have talked to the public.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  Of course.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  Following my appointment as a joint Minister across the Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, I would like to respond to Members’ concerns about the digital ID policy. The programme has two core objectives. The first is to transform the state and make it work better for ordinary working people. Too often, accessing public services is harder than it should be. Digital ID will change that, providing the foundation of how we transform public services for everyone. The new digital ID will be a modern, secure and trusted way for people to prove who they are and to access services across both the public and private sectors. It will be inclusive. We will issue the new digital ID to everyone who wants one and has the right to be in the UK, including the around 10% of UK citizens without traditional forms of ID. That will be transformational for how they access services, and it will unlock Government services that work better for people, saving people time, hassle and money. It will reduce fraud, enable new possibilities for integrated services and make interacting with Government easier for everyone. That is why, by the end of this Parliament, we will design and roll out a digital credential to every eligible UK citizen who wants one—one that is easy to use and unlocks improved public services. Secondly, we are committed to reducing illegal migration and will be mandating that right-to-work checks are conducted digitally. Currently, employers can carry out checks of over a dozen different forms of ID. For British and Irish citizens, many of those checks are currently paper based. That is confusing, vulnerable to fraud and does not always create a clear record of when and where checks have been carried out. As the Prime Minister clearly said yesterday, there will be checks, they will be digital and they will be mandatory. Those seeking to work illegally in the United Kingdom will no longer be able to provide fraudulent papers. Information obtained from digital right-to-work checks will be available to help crack down on unscrupulous employers who are undercutting British workers and hiring people without the legal right to work. This is about fairness and ensuring that only those with a genuine right to work in the United Kingdom are able to work in the United Kingdom. We will be consulting imminently, in a range of ways, on how we design this scheme. We want to hear from people, businesses and stakeholder groups across the United Kingdom about what approach works for them. A new digital ID will put power back in people’s hands, helping to make services more personal, joined up and effective, and ensuring that everyone can access the support that they need, when they need it. It will be—

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  The digital ID scheme and toughening up illegal labour market enforcement are part of a suite of measures that this Government are delivering to crack down on illegal migration. Other measures include, for example, extending right-to-work checks to cover businesses hiring in the gig economy and zero-hours workers in construction, food delivery, beauty salons and so on. This is all about reducing incentives for illegal migration, and it will change irregular migrants’ perceptions of the toughness of the UK labour market enforcement regime, which the hon. Member’s party failed to do for 14 years.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  We absolutely will outline those benefits. I would just underscore that countries all over the world have introduced a digital ID scheme to better join up public services. In India, that has saved an estimated $10 billion every single year; those are savings that this country deserves and wants, and that is what we will deliver.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I wholeheartedly agree. Toughening up our illegal labour market enforcement regime, and using digital right-to-work checks to do that, is a vital part of delivering this Government’s central priority to crack down on illegal migration.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  Let me restate for the hon. Gentleman the argument that connects digital ID to small boat crossings. We are using digital right-to-work checks, which will enable an audit of where those checks have happened, so that we can toughen up our enforcement against illegal working. That will bring this country in line with international peers, such as France and Germany, and reduce the pull factors. The use cases for this system, and how it will join up Government, are matters that will be subject to the consultation, so I invite him to make a submission to the consultation and tell us where exactly it can be useful. Let me give one example. When somebody has a baby, they have to apply for childcare repeatedly, and have to remind the Government of what they are doing. The Government already know that information, so people should not have to do that. Tired working parents should not have to fight the Government to get things that they are entitled to, and we will ensure that they do not have to.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I am glad the hon. Member is smiling about the potential new colleague she may obtain in the coming days. We on the Labour Benches have a proud history of building public goods that help us to serve people better: the NHS, social housing, the welfare state. This piece of digital infrastructure will serve working people across the country for decades to come and make government work better for them. I am proud that we are building digital public goods.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend, who has been a powerful advocate on this issue. The purposes of the scheme are twofold. First, digitising right-to-work checks will help us toughen up illegal labour market enforcement, making it easier for businesses to check people’s right to work and for individuals to prove their right to work. Secondly, this is about the future of digital government; it is about making our Government work better for ordinary people, and the digital ID scheme is a foundational piece of infrastructure that will help us do that in the decades ahead. The Labour party has a long history of building public goods and public infrastructure, and I am proud that we are doing that for the future.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for her constructive question. I will cover each of those three points. First, the digital ID will be free for everyone who wants one. Secondly, access to public services will not be conditional on having one. The Prime Minister has been clear on that, and I can underscore that commitment. Thirdly, it will be rolled out with one of the largest digital inclusion programmes that the UK Government have ever undertaken.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I commend my hon. Friend for the public meeting she held—my constituents reported back that it was a robust but constructive conversation, which, as she knows, conversations always are in Wigan—and I can set out the wider benefits. When someone has a baby, they should be able to access the childcare they need without having to tell the Government repeatedly the same information that we already know about them. When we tell our constituents that that does not already happen, they think it probably should already happen. We will make sure that it does happen so that people are saved time, money and hassle.

• 15 Jan 2026 · Digital ID · Hansard source

  More

  I am delighted that the hon. Member is so pleased with gov.uk. I am sure that he will be equally delighted when we roll out the simple, easy-to-use and effective digital ID, which will help him to access a whole range of public services through gov.uk that he cannot currently access. In the coming weeks, we will show him more about how we might do that, and I am sure that he will be thrilled.