Since UK government departments can't agree on a single system of how to identify an individual, using paper or otherwise, I don't expect any digital system will necessarily work any better.
However, and as a major plus for us techies, I understand that there's still plenty of money to be made from the use of sealing wax, string, and various other adhesive substances, in an attempt to try to cross-reference the various population-scale databases that exist within the UK.
At last count I had about 7 or 8 "unique" identifiers that tell various government departments that I'm me. And I'm just a regular Joe :-).