One Login and GOV.UK Wallet push continues after digital ID cancellation

The cancellation of the UK’s national digital ID programme hasn’t affected the government’s work on GOV.UK One Login and GOV.UK Wallet, according to a new House of Commons Library briefing.

“There is no indication they are affected by [the national digital ID programme’s] cancellation,” the Commons Library confirmed.

The distinction follows months of political and public debate around digital ID, which culminated in the government cancelling the national scheme on July 21.

GOV.UK One Login is intended eventually to replace more than 190 separate government login systems, giving users a single account through which they can access different government services. The government said earlier this year that One Login was already providing access to more than 122 services and that all central government services were due to be onboarded by the end of 2027.

Alongside it sits GOV.UK Wallet, an app through which users will be able to store and present digital versions of government-issued documents.

The government has been working towards creating digital versions of official documents, beginning with the Veteran Card and driving licence.

In its consultation on the national scheme earlier this year, the government described One Login as providing a single “front door” to public services, while Wallet would enable people to store secure digital documents rather than relying on physical versions.

The proposed national digital ID would have created a new standalone government-issued proof of identity linked to an individual’s One Login account and capable of being stored in GOV.UK Wallet.

Private digital identity market remains

According to the briefing, the UK digital verification services sector generated £2 billion in revenue in 2024/25.

Successive governments have sought to support that market through the UK digital verification services trust framework, which establishes standards covering areas including privacy, cybersecurity and inclusivity.

Only providers certified against the framework will be able to access government-held data for identity verification purposes.

The government has also been working on changes to legislation and guidance to enable digital identities to be used in more circumstances, including age verification for alcohol purchases and anti-money laundering checks.

The relationship between government and the private digital identity market became one of the areas of contention surrounding the proposed national scheme.

The Commons Library noted that technology industry groups had argued that the private sector was already providing privacy-preserving digital ID services and raised concerns that a government-backed scheme could crowd out private sector alternatives.