Minister confirms government ambition on digital identity

12 Jun 2019 12:37 PM

Consultation and new DCMS-Cabinet Office Digital Identity Unit to launch in the coming weeks.

Speaking at the Identity Week conference yesterday (11 June) the Minister for Implementation, Oliver Dowden MP, provided an update on GOV.UK Verify and set out the government’s next steps towards enabling the creation of a digital identity market.

In an address to industry professionals he confirmed that there are now 20 government services connected to Verify and that the number of citizens using it to access services increased by a million between October 2018 and April this year.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to enabling the creation of a ubiquitous digital identity market and set out actions the Cabinet Office is taking in partnership with DCMS and other departments to deliver on this ambition. This includes:

• A consultation to be issued in the coming weeks on how to deliver the effective organisation of the digital identity market. Through this consultation the government will work with industry, particularly with sectors who have frequent user identity interactions, to ensure inter-operable ‘rules of the road’ for identity
• The creation of a new Digital Identity Unit, which is a collaboration between DCMS and Cabinet Office. The Unit will help bring the public and private sector together, ensure the adoption of interoperable standards, specification and schemes, and deliver on the outcome of the consultation
• The start of engagement on the commercial framework for consuming digital identities from the private sector for the period from April 2020 to ensure the continued delivery of public services. The Government Digital Service will continue to ensure alignment of commercial models that are adopted by the developing identity market to build a flourishing ecosystem that delivers value for everyone

The Minister for Implementation’s speech to the Identity Week conference follows on from his address to the CognitionX conference recently (June 10th), where he launched a new AI Guide for government, a new online marketplace for tech startups to sell to the public sector, and the Government Innovation Technology Strategy. Read more about this.