Government offers public services via new GOV.UK App

The Government is digitising a range of public services with the launch today of its new GOV.UK App, which is now available to download on smartphones.

It said it wants to bring public services more in line with the experience people have when they bank or shop from their phones.

Launching first in public beta and available in the Apple App store and Google marketplace, the release will allow the public to build the app around their personal circumstances, life events and services.

The homepage of GOV.UK App can feature any combination of 11 topics: Benefits, Business, Care, Driving and transport, Employment, Health and disability, Money and tax, Parenting and guardianship, Retirement, Studying and training, and Travel.

People will be able to choose which topics to prioritise on their home page, based on which government services are most important to them. A home page will then let people access those services, making it faster to get information, request support or change their details with the right government service.

Over time, new tools and functionality will be added. Later this year, the government’s generative AI (gen AI) chatbot – GOV.UK Chat – will be added to the service. The Government said this will help people get answers to niche questions more quickly, where the details important to them may be buried in the 700,000-page website. This could be how to set up a specific type of business, what’s needed to apply for a passport, or what support new parents can access.

Following the addition of GOV.UK Chat, work will start to make sure different government benefits, such as childcare allowances, can be dealt with through the app.

“Our new GOV.UK App shows for the first time how this government is overhauling taxpayer-funded services as we deliver on our Plan for Change,” said Technology secretary Peter Kyle. “By putting public services in your pocket, we will do away with clunky paper forms and hours spent on hold, so you can immediately get the information you need and continue on with the rest of your day.

“This release of the GOV.UK App is just the start. Soon, you will be able to use it to ask GOV.UK Chat any question you like about government services, and get a reliable answer immediately. You will then get personal notifications, reminding you when your MOT is due or whether you need to register to vote, and then you will be able to closely track your childcare credits just as you do your bank account.”

The launch follows the Digital Blueprint for Government. Later this year, the UK Government will also launch GOV.UK Wallet, which will eventually carry a digital version of all government issued documents. It will start with a Veterans’ Card this autumn, followed by a pilot of a digital drivers’ licence later this year. For the first release, the GOV.UK Wallet will be separate from the GOV.UK App. Over time the Wallet will also integrate with the GOV.UK App.

The GOV.UK App is underpinned by GOV.UK One Login, with users able to use facial ID to log in.