Partner and head of Blandy & Blandy’s Residential Property team, Manisha Bhula, discusses a recent social media post by the Prime Minister in relation to the government’s proposed digital ID scheme.
The proposal has resulted in much debate within the legal sector and more widely, in Parliament, across the media and among the voting public.
Attention was drawn to the social media post, which suggested that the proposed digital ID scheme could streamline identity verification (client due diligence) during the conveyancing process, saving the parties involved, time and money.
On 24 October 2025, the Prime Minister posted: “I recently spoke with someone buying a house with her partner. She told me that she had to pay just to verify who she was. With digital ID that could be done in seconds and wipe out the costs. Digital ID will save you time and money.”
The Prime Minister’s comment is misleading. There is far more to consider throughout the conveyancing process, beyond simply identity verification.
For example, on a property purchase, as part of client due diligence and by virtue of the relevant Money Laundering regulations, legal professionals are required to not only establish the identity of their clients but to investigate the source of the purchase funds. Depending on whether funds come from a mortgage, the sale of another property, personal savings, or inheritance, the process involves gathering and assessing supporting documents, which might include bank statements, payslips, probate records etc.
Conveyancing is a layered and complicated process that exists to preserve the integrity of the legal profession and safeguards the property market against the very real threat of money laundering. As a result, the process is time-consuming and the cost of undertaking client due diligence and meeting a firm’s regulatory and compliance requirements is often not fully recovered from the client. Therefore, in some cases, a firm may charge a separate fee to cover the cost of establishing the identity of the client and the source of their funds..
While the digital ID scheme might potentially reduce the time spent on identify verification, it won’t negate the wider requirement for law firms to carry out extensive client and matter due diligence on every file that comes across their desks.
Blandy & Blandy is a leading law firm in the Thames Valley, with offices in Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham. The firm is accredited by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), which is the recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices.
