Building the foundations: A national roadmap for digital identity and sovereign data
After months of missteps and confusion, the UK digital identity sector now has the clarity to move forward. Technology secretary Peter Kyle’s recent blog outlining the role of the private sector alongside his department’s work on the Gov.uk Wallet is a moment that demands open collaboration between government and industry. We have a lot to do – and we need to get started right away.
The tech community in the UK, and even less so the general public, are not yet fully aware of the implications of digital identity, smart data, and sovereign personal data that will be brought about by the forthcoming Data (Use & Access) Bill. While digital ID is not as eye-catching as the debates around artificial intelligence, its effects nonetheless promise to be equally profound.
I saw the power of reusable digital identity first-hand on a recent trip to Singapore with a colleague. While familiar with the concept, he couldn’t quite picture how it worked in practice – until we experienced it ourselves.
While I was there, my daughter – who lives in Singapore – was involved in a minor traffic accident. The claims process? She uploaded the dashcam footage and scanned her SingPass, the country’s national digital wallet. That was it. No paperwork, no long calls, no follow-up forms. It was seamless, secure, and completely different from the slow, manually intensive claims processes we still deal with in the UK.
The big insight? While the benefits to the “front office” – what users see and experience – are obvious, it’s the transformation of the back office that truly shifts the productivity dial.
We’ve spent decades chasing efficiency through programmes like Six Sigma and lean operations. Those gains were real. But in a world built around personal data sovereignty and certified credentials, those efficiencies are no longer just operational – they’re embedded into the fabric of the data layer itself.
New organisations built from the ground up using smart data and digital identity will be leaner, faster, and more adaptive than legacy systems that rely on multiple, siloed customer databases. Many of the administrative burdens and data management overheads we currently accept simply won’t exist in this new model.
This isn’t a futuristic concept – it’s already here. Nearly three billion people worldwide are using digital identity systems to improve access, security, and public service delivery. If the UK wants to modernise, this is a wave we can’t afford to miss.
But meaningful change will require more than tech alone – it needs a movement.
Implementing reusable identity and sovereign data ownership will be deeply political, filled with both complexity and uncertainty David Crack, ADVP
Take something like using a mobile driving licence to buy alcohol. For that to work at scale, we need point-of-sale systems that integrate smoothly and don’t add costs or complexity. Local authorities must also be able to verify that controls are in place, both online and offline.
Engineers can build the plumbing – interoperability, secure data exchange, integration, and so on. Human beings are good at solving technical problems like these.
But changing human behaviour? That’s harder. Implementing reusable identity and sovereign data ownership will be deeply political, filled with both complexity and uncertainty.
So far, the debate has focused on aligning legal and digital identity. But what really matters to people is their social identity – their sense of self. As this technology rolls out, that’s where our attention will turn.
So here are a few things we believe politicians, business leaders, community voices and changemakers need to be thinking about next if we want inclusive adoption across the economy.
Unblocking regulatory resistance to digital identity
Right now, the biggest blocker to adoption is regulatory alignment. Without a shared framework across sectors, in-house compliance teams will play it safe, shutting down innovation before it starts.
But the moment the rules shift, the brakes come off. Compliance can be encouraged to flip from gatekeeper to enabler, working hand-in-hand with technologists to use risk assessment to unlock new value for business.
To make this happen, we need regulation, compliance, and technology pulling in the same direction – with a shared vision for how digital identity can support economic growth, trust, and inclusion.
Government and industry must now come together to accelerate regulatory modernisation across the whole economy, not just in finance.
Making digital inclusion the foundation of a fair digital society
While aligning regulation, we must also recognise that not everyone starts at the same line. Millions remain digitally excluded – cut off by lack of access, skills, trust, or ID. For them, exclusion isn’t about missing out on convenience – it’s about being locked out of services, opportunities, and even identity itself.
We see the real-world fallout already. Supermarkets offer significant discounts only to loyalty card users – rewarding the digitally included, penalising the rest. What begins as a marketing incentive ends with entrenching inequality – serving the interests of omnipresent organisations not the individuals they purport to serve.
This is why implementing digital identity must be designed with inclusion at its core. As more benefits become tied to having a digital profile, we risk creating a two-tier society.
To prevent this, regulation and systems must support offline onboarding, local vouching, and gradual, trust-based identity-building. Trusted community spaces – libraries, job centres, housing teams – can serve as welcoming bridges into the digital world. These bottom-up models are already working in some areas, turning policy into people-first practice.
Digital identity should be a gateway to dignity and belonging, not another locked door. If we design for the margins, we’ll design regulation and systems that serve everyone better. We shape our technology, then our technology shapes us. Inclusion must therefore be the foundation – not an afterthought.
Providing real consumer choice
The brands we choose say something about who we are. Identity is deeply personal – it reflects not just how we’re seen, but how we see ourselves.
While the state will always have a role as the identity provider of last resort, real choice means letting people bring their own digital wallet to government – not government prescribing the one they must use.
For decades, the identity industry has been deep in the trenches of technical complexity. But in doing so, we’ve often missed the most human truth – identity isn’t just a certified credential – it’s who we are. We are not QR codes.
That’s why inclusion has to be the heartbeat of this entire agenda. For those who’ve historically been left out – like the Windrush generation – insisting on a government-issued wallet as the sole gateway to public services risks repeating the same injustices we’ve vowed to fix.
Under current plans, only the Gov.uk One Login wallet gets the keys to government services. That creates a structural imbalance. Not all wallets are equal. Citizens are boxed into using the government wallet for public services, while private options are left on the outside. In short citizens will need at least two wallets – one for government, another for everything else.
And let’s not forget the psychology of change. People are more likely to adopt something new when it gives them freedom, mastery and purpose. They resist when change is done to them. Consequently, this is where government needs to pause and reflect. Collectively, we can do better.
Building a roadmap to the future
For organisations investing in business and IT systems today – whose return on investment will be measured not in quarters, but across five-, 10-, or 15-year horizons – the need for a national roadmap is urgent.
Why? Because the shift to reusable digital identity and sovereign personal data isn’t just a new tech layer – it’s a fundamental rewire of how back-office operations function. The leap from “as is” to “to be” will not be incremental – it will be transformational. Existing workflows, compliance routines, and service delivery models will be turned inside out. This is about designing for the future, not optimising the past.
Solution architects and policy planners need a clear roadmap now. Without it, public and private actors risk designing systems for a world that will no longer exists – locking in legacy thinking just as society starts to unlock its data.
We need a roadmap that:
Sets clear milestones for adoption across both public and private sectors with measurable targets.
Coordinates investment in the enabling infrastructure – wallets, holder services, interoperability layers, and supplementary codes.
Supports local ecosystems – so cities, regions, and communities can co-create identity journeys that reflect their own needs and realities.
Champions plurality and portability – making sure citizens can bring their chosen ID, from a trusted provider, into all corners of the economy.
We therefore welcome the opportunity from the secretary of state for collaboration and innovation. We want to be equal partners in change.
If we get this right in the UK, we won’t just be rebuilding the country and creating economic growth. We’ll empower people. We’ll unlock opportunity. And we’ll show the world how democracy can evolve – and thrive – in the digital era.
Let’s now work on how we make the vision a reality.
Jonathan is a tech enthusiast and the mind behind Tech AI Verse. With a passion for artificial intelligence, consumer tech, and emerging innovations, he deliver clear, insightful content to keep readers informed. From cutting-edge gadgets to AI advancements and cryptocurrency trends, Jonathan breaks down complex topics to make technology accessible to all.
