Government to launch Gov.uk Wallet

The government will be launching a new app, allowing citizens to use government services on their mobile phones. The Gov.uk app will include several services, including applying for childcare or reporting lost passports.

Alongside the app, the government is planning to launch a Gov.uk Wallet, which will allow users to have government-issued documents available on their phones.

In the first instance, this will include a digital version of driving licences and Veteran Cards, which will be piloted later this year. However, by 2027, it will include DBS checks and a range of other credential documents issued by the government.

Commenting on the announcement, science, innovation and technology secretary Peter Kyle said that “the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history.

“For people who choose to use Gov.uk Wallet, they will find it easier to prove they’re entitled to benefits or check their age when buying alcohol or DIY equipment, with more security and trust than ever before. Crucially, it also opens huge opportunities to make interacting with public services much easier by putting people in control of their own data.

“We will be overhauling how the public sector uses technology which is essential to delivering our Plan for Change, and in combination with this new tech for people to use themselves, we are going to slash the time people waste dealing with annoying processes so they can focus on what matters to them.”

The wallet will be available on both i.OS and Android phones, and underpinned by the Gov.uk One Login service, using the same security features that are built into smartphones such as facial recognition.

Veteran Cards will be one of the first documents available in the wallet, and minister for veterans and people Alistair Carns said it was “fantastic” that former service personnel will be the first to access the digital wallet.

“Having access to their HM Armed Forces Veteran Card via their smartphone will help make it even easier for them to verify their veteran status and access the support and benefits they’re entitled to,” he said.

“This is a government committed to delivering for all those who serve and have served. We’re turning words into action to improve life for every veteran.”

The government is planning to launch its Gov.uk App in summer of 2024, which will include an app version of the website with a personalised homepage, and allow people to complete essential tasks on their phone, eventually including applying for benefits, or finding an apprenticeship.

It will also give people the option to receive alerts and notifications, informing them of changes in the status of an application, or making them aware of a new policy or service relevant to them.

The government is looking at the potential of adding its generative AI chatbot Gov.uk Chat to the app to help people find answers to complex questions that may not be searchable.

The chatbot was trialled with 10,000 real business users in December 2024, and was found to give relevant answers in 90% of cases. It will soon enter further testing.

The Gov.uk app and the wallet are both part of the government’s plans to overhaul the way technology is funded, implemented and acquired across the public sector to accelerate the development of digital services to benefit citizens.

The government has also launched a “blueprint for a modern digital government” targeting £45bn in productivity savings across the public sector, and announced plans for a revamp of the Government Digital Service (GDS).

GDS is to be re-merged with the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) which was split away from GDS by the previous Conservative government in 2021. Two other teams, the Incubator for AI and the Geospatial Commission, will become part of GDS. Each of those organisations were brought under control of DSIT after Labour won the 2024 general election.