The claim that "The DigitalID programme was unfunded" is directly supported by the OBR's own official assessment that "no specific funding has been identified" for the programme. The IFS corroborated this. The person who was in charge of the programme (Darren Jones) confirmed it was unfunded. The government's counter-argument about the programme being "scored" does not contradict the claim — being scored means the cost was estimated in fiscal projections, but the OBR explicitly said no specific funding source had been identified. Funding was meant to come from "unidentified Whitehall savings," which is essentially another way of saying it was unfunded. Key evidence: 1. The OBR, in its Economic and Fiscal Outlook, explicitly stated that "no specific funding has been identified" for the digital ID programme, which was estimated to cost £1.8bn over three years. The OBR described costs as "provisional" and warned there was "no explicit provision" to pay for it. 2. Darren Jones, who was Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister and in charge of the Digital ID programme, stated on X: "the DigitalID program was unfunded. The government will have to set out how it will pay for its new policies at the budget." 3. Helen Miller, director of the IFS, confirmed the OBR's assessment and noted the government would need to make "around £850m of as yet unspecified cuts." 4. Multiple news outlets (BBC, City AM, The Independent, The Standard, PoliticsHome) all reported the OBR's finding. The government's counter-argument that the programme was "scored" by the OBR does not contradict the claim — being scored means the cost was recognized in fiscal projections, not that money had been allocated to pay for it. Sources: - BBC News, "Starmer ally takes swipe at Burnham's first big policy," https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62xzn3j1p2o - City AM, "Unfunded Digital ID will not free up new cash for Burnham's cost of living plans," https://www.cityam.com/digital-id-cut-may-not-free-up-new-cash-for-burnhams-cost-of-living-plans/ - The Independent, "Burnham announces £850m tax cut on energy bills but faces questions over funding," https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/andy-burnham-vat-cabinet-john-healey-government-b3018683.html - PoliticsHome, "Confusion In Whitehall Over Burnham Plan To Scrap Digital ID," https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/confusion-in-whitehall-over-burnham-plan-to-scrap-digital-id - GOV.UK, "The Rt Hon Darren Jones MP," https://www.gov.uk/government/people/darren-jones