By bizn_fun 
She said the move by Labour represented “another U-turn”.
The change of policy is the latest in a series of U-turns the government has made since it came to power – including climbdowns on welfare reforms, reducing winter fuel payments and inheritance tax for farmers.
When the government first announced the policy plan, it argued that mandatory digital ID for workers would make it easier to clamp down on immigrants working illegally.
The scheme, it is understood, will now deal less narrowly with immigration and the government will instead place more emphasis on the argument that digital ID can be a useful tool for the public when accessing public services.
Asked about the issue at an Institute for Government conference earlier on Tuesday, Darren Jones, the minister responsible for rolling out the policy, said it would be a “route to the digital transformation of customer-facing public services”.
He said a consultation would be launched “very shortly”, adding: “I’m confident this time next year the polling will be in a much better place on digital ID than it is today.”
The policy had attracted criticism since it was announced last September, with nearly three million people signing a parliamentary petition opposing the introduction of digital IDs.
There has also been nervousness among some Labour MPs over the compulsory aspect of the original proposal.