The head of the department delivering the UK government's digital identity scheme has rejected the £1.8 billion cost forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), but is not willing to provide an alternative until after a delayed consultation on the plans.

The OBR, which provides independent analysis of government spending, made the estimate in its Budget analysis documents published at the end of last month .

But on December 3, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's permanent secretary, Emran Mian, told a House of Commons select committee that the cost will depend on the outcome of a consultation that has been pushed back to the new year.

Mian informed a meeting of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee that the consultation will cover what a digita

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