A few weeks before I started as TechUK’s head of digital identity, the new prime minister Andy Burnham announced that the government was cancelling its national digital identity scheme.
I will admit to a moment of anxiety. What did this mean for the sector I was about to join? Was this the end of digital identity in the UK? Had I chosen the wrong moment to change jobs?
The reality, it turns out, is very different.
Having spent several weeks in the role, and looking beyond the headlines, it is clear that digital identity use cases continue to be rolled out across the economy and society. Most recently, secondary legislation was passed to allow digital proof of age to be used for alcohol purchases, making it easier for citizens to prove their age without carrying physical documents.
Other schemes are also moving forward. The Gov.uk Wallet is moving ahead with a digital driving licence in development and further documents expected to follow. One Login continues to develop as the single sign-in for government services. And the Digital Verification Services (DVS) trust framework – now at version 1.0 following its release earlier this year – continues to mature, giving confidence that digital verification providers meet strict standards. None of this infrastructure has gone away.
Wider adoption
What is becoming clear is that momentum for the wider adoption of digital verification services will not come from a single, mandated government credential. It will come from a competitive market of trusted providers, working together under the rules of the government’s DVS trust framework, to build adoption and ensure public confidence in digital verification services and solutions.
While this is all good news, given the economic and societal potential of this technology is immense, it seems to me this is not enough on its own to really move us forward.
“We need to go further and be more ambitious. Government and industry must work together on a long-term strategy for growing the adoption of digital verification services in the UK”
Max Elphick
Used well, digital identity could turbocharge growth across the UK. The sector already generates around £2bn a year, and widespread adoption has been estimated to be worth billions more to the economy, without even accounting for the wider prize – interoperability with international schemes such as the EU’s eIDAS, which could let UK citizens and businesses use trusted digital verification solutions when working, trading or travelling across borders. And in an age of AI development, digital identity solutions could also be a powerful tool for providing verification for AI agents whose role in society will likely only increase.
Full potential
To realise the full potential of this technology, we need to go further and be more ambitious. Government and industry must work together on a long-term strategy for growing the adoption of digital verification services in the UK.
As we recommended in TechUK’s Digital ID & the UK: Empowering citizens, enabling growth report last year, that should include a clear, industry-backed roadmap prioritising high-volume, high-value use cases which offer utility for the consumer. That would give the sector confidence to keep investing here, creating jobs and supporting growth.
Digital verification services should be recognised as a cross-economy driver of growth and a key enabler of an advanced digital economy, and the resulting strategy should be pursued holistically across government, joined up with related initiatives such as the government’s smart data strategy.
The information gateway powers in the Data (Use and Access) Act should be commenced at pace, letting trusted providers verify identities against authoritative public data and raising confidence in digital ID across the board.
Government-issued credentials, such as a digital driving licence, must also be able to work in private sector wallets from day one, ensuring genuine interoperability between the Gov.uk Wallet and private sector credentials. A competitive, interoperable ecosystem is what will give consumers more choice, drive adoption and keep the UK aligned with international best practice.
The next chapter
The cancellation of one scheme is not the end of this story, but a chance to write its next chapter more deliberately. The building blocks of a trusted, competitive digital identity market are already in place: Gov.uk Wallet, One Login, and the DVS trust framework.
What is missing is a shared, long-term plan for how government and industry use them together. If government and industry can agree that plan now, digital identity can become one of the quiet, powerful drivers of UK growth. The ambition should match the scale of that opportunity.
Max Elphick is head of digital identity at technology trade association TechUK.