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The UK has launched digital driving licences and veteran ID cards that people carry on their smartphones, as part of Sir Keir Starmer’s drive to modernise the British state and drive growth.
Technology secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday that the government’s new “digital wallet” app would by 2027 also include documents showing criminal record checks and proof of eligibility for state benefits.
“The GOV.UK Wallet will mean that every letter or identity document you receive from the government could be issued to you virtually,” Kyle said. The app will make use of facial recognition technology to verify users.
The move is part of a wider push by Starmer’s Labour administration to use technology to transform government operations, improve lacklustre productivity across Whitehall and drive economic growth.
Kyle also announced a series of AI tools — nicknamed “Humphrey” — that he claimed would help civil servants improve decision making and cutback on consultancy spending.
One of the tools, called “Consult”, would analyse responses to government consultations, while another, called “Lex”, is intended to help officials sort through legal texts.
Joe Hill, a former Treasury civil servant and now policy director at the Reform think-tank, said the announcements were a “welcome step” but “will not deliver a truly digital state alone”.
He said the government would need to take risks by making “serious investments” and “accepting that some of those investments won’t work”.
“False economies have plagued digital transformation by successive governments,” he said. “The real test of this government’s commitment to modernisation will be the upcoming Spending Review.”
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