The UK government has launched a public consultation on revised proposals to introduce a digital identity system designed to make public services quicker, easier and more secure to access.
The consultation, published by the Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, seeks views on how digital ID could be used to help people prove their identity online when accessing government services.
Ministers say the system could allow users to log in once to verify their identity and then access multiple public services without repeatedly submitting documents or creating separate accounts for different departments.
The government said the approach could support activities such as managing free childcare payments, filing tax returns and accessing other services online.
Alongside the consultation, the Cabinet Office has published images and videos of a prototype system demonstrating how a digital identity could operate in practice. The prototype shows how users could sign in through a single application to confirm their identity when interacting with different government services.
According to the government, the aim is to reduce the need for people to repeatedly provide the same personal information when dealing with multiple public bodies.
The consultation also asks for feedback on several design questions, including what information a digital identity should contain, the age at which people should be able to obtain one, and which services it should be used with.
Darren Jones said the consultation was intended to gather public input on how the system should be developed.
“We want to make interacting with the state as simple and secure as possible,” he said. “Digital identity could help people prove who they are quickly and easily when accessing public services, while maintaining strong protections around privacy and security.”
The proposed digital identity would be free to use and designed to meet security and privacy requirements.
As they will also establish a “people’s panel” made up of members of the public from different backgrounds to discuss the proposals and provide feedback on the development of the system. The consultation is open to individuals, businesses and organisations and will run until early May.