Member

Amendment 60 probes the penalties that might be introduced for organisations that fail to use the consistent identifier. There is, I think, broad support in the Committee for ensuring that the identifier is used effectively. These provisions already allow the Secretary of State to mandate the use of the consistent identifier, but only once pilots have demonstrated clear benefit. As with other statutory duties, we will work closely with the relevant regulatory bodies to monitor compliance. This approach—grounded in evidence, collaboration and phased implementation—is the right one. At this stage, we do not believe that penalties are necessary to promote the use of the consistent identifier.