- New GOV.UK accounts will make it easier for people to find and use government services
- People with accounts will not have to fill in their personal details multiple times on separate services
- Those who do not want accounts will still be able to access all services and strict data protection measures will be in place
From October, a limited number of people will be given the chance to create their own personal accounts to use on parts of GOV.UK, the government’s website.
The accounts will make it easier for people to find the services they need and will mean they don’t have to repeatedly fill in the same pieces of information, such as names and addresses, to access different government services.
Cabinet Office Minister, Julia Lopez, said:
People expect a modern and efficient service when they log on to GOV.UK and allowing people to set up their own accounts will make finding services and interacting with the Government much easier.
I know how annoying it can be to have to input the same information into a website several times or fail to get an important update because you haven’t registered for a particular alert – having a GOV.UK account will prevent that.
If the initial trial is a success, it will be rolled out to allow more people to create GOV.UK accounts if they want to. Those who do not want to create an account will still be able to access the full range of Government services online.
The trial is designed to bring the Government website in line with other services, such as shopping, banking and entertainment websites, which allow people to log in to them to provide tailored services.
As well as providing a more seamless service, the trial will also help guide people around GOV.UK by using the information they provide to point them to services which may be relevant to them.
The trial will also allow users to say how they want their data to be used and guarantee that the necessary safeguards are in place to protect their information.
The head of GOV.UK, Jen Allum, said:
Using accounts on GOV.UK will be beneficial to many people, allowing them to find the services they need much more quickly, and helping them to find out about things they didn’t realise were of benefit to them too.
But we know some people will not want an account, so we are making sure that they will still be able to access all services. And we will have strict rules in place to make sure everyone’s data is kept safely and used properly.
GOV.UK was created in 2012 to replace 2,000 separate Government websites. Since its creation, the site has had more than 20 billion views.
An average of approximately 5million users now access GOV.UK every day.
The trial of GOV.UK accounts is due to begin at the end of October and will run for an initial period of three months.
