Cross-government digital identity service proposed

The UK Government is consulting on draft regulations to enable a digital identity verification service which will allow people to create and reuse digital identities to access public services.

Known as GOV.UK One Login, it will make it easier for people to find and access government services, and allow users to prove their identity online, while protecting their privacy and reducing identity fraud and theft.

To enable this, the Government will create a new objective under chapter 1 of part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017. The proposed objective will enable data sharing by specified public authorities to deliver digital identity verification services to citizens. The data sharing would provide those authorities with the ability to share data for the purposes of identity verification for the benefit of individuals and households.

In order to deliver this service successfully, participating authorities will need to be able to check and share several types of government-held personal data with the identity verification service to allow users to prove they are who they say they are.

Among the examples given of how this would work is someone wanting to remortgage their property and needing to prove their identity ahead of signing the mortgage deed online. Having already created a GOV.UK One Login account to manage their tax information, which involved passing an identity check, all they need to do is sign into their GOV.UK One Login account and agree to share their information to the Land Registry. 

Consults are asked whether the proposals would meet the statutory conditions and objectives for data sharing, which Government departments should be eligible to share data, and whether any individuals or groups would be disadvantaged, among other points.

Ministers provisionally intend the powers to come into force by the end of this year.

Access the consultation here. Responses are due by 1 March 2023.