New smartphone tool for use by Scotland’s citizens will initially focus on information about the likes of weather and travel, before expanding into areas such as verification and other services
The Scottish Government has revealed plans to develop a proof-of-age and public-services app to transform Scotland into a “digital-first nation”.
The app, which is scheduled for launch in 2026, will allow users to access a range of services through a single portal. It will initially provide alerts on weather and travel disruption, followed by digital proof-of-age functionality, with further options to be added over time.
The government is working with Danish firm Netcompany to develop the system. The tech outfit provided the national Digital Post system for its home country, as well as fulfilling numerous major digital public-sector engagements in the UK.
Earlier this week the Scottish Government launched an updated National Digital Strategy in an effort to transform Scotland’s digital landscape. The strategy sets out new plans intended to create a digitally connected country, including the delivery of digital public services.
Users in Denmark log into the Digital Post system using their digital IDs. They are then able to see a wide range of official communications, including hospital appointments, pension statements, tax notices and educational support information. It also allows users to interact with public services by paying bills and booking appointments through one portal. The Scottish system could look to mirror these functions in time, as the platform will be built using the same system that was used in Denmark.
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In 2023 the Scottish Government launched the Scot Account system, which allows users to use one account to sign in to a variety of public services and verify their personal information. It is unclear whether the newly launched app will integrate with the Scot Account system.
The Scot Account system has faced pushback from MSPs, who have accused the Scottish Government of trying to introduce digital IDs through the system. Just last month Swinney voiced his disapproval of a proposed digital ID scheme by the Labour government, calling the idea an “infringement” on people’s rights.
“Our engagement here in Scotland has been all about how this system can become the glue that’s going to help government work more coherently together,” Thomas Rysgaard Christiansen, a partner at Netcompany, told PublicTechnology sister publication Holyrood. “But also, how it can create a system where the public has one point of interaction with the government instead of many different options.”
The Digital Post system has been so successful in Denmark that the national postal service, PostNord, is scheduled to stop its traditional letter delivery service at the end of 2025, shifting its focus to parcel delivery due to a significant drop in physical letters being posted.
“In many ways it is an infrastructure that will enable government to digitise more end-to-end processes,” said Christiansen. “Because we know in the future, there will be a need, both from a cost standpoint, but also from a demographic standpoint, to become better at delivering these services with less than what we do today.”
He added: “I think we will see certain services like this that will be launched and used by citizens that primarily will have good access. But very quickly it’ll become evident that we need this to be supported across our entire ecosystem. I see this project almost also as a catalyst for some of these other things that will be coming, because, of course, this has to be useful for all citizens.”
A version of this story originally appeared on PublicTechnology sister publication Holyrood
