UK veterans offered digital card for quicker access to benefits and support
The UK government has launched a digital version of its physical ‘Veteran Card’ to enable the country’s 1.8 million ex-military personnel to access services “at the touch of a button”.
The new digital card will give veterans a “seamless” way to confirm their status and access “everything from housing and mental health support to reduced entry at museums and money off their shopping”, according to the government.
UK technology secretary Liz Kendall added that the card would “help remove barriers, reduce red-tape and make it easier for people to access the public services they need”.
The move is part of the government’s broader mission to transform public services so that they work “around people’s lives and not the other way round”.
“Just like a digital bank card or rail card, [the digital card] puts convenient proof of service directly in veterans’ pockets, highlighting which service of the Armed Forces they last served in to unlock service-specific support and ending the need to carry a physical copy whilst maintaining the highest security standards,” the government said.
Read more: UK government plans to roll out compulsory digital ID
New way to access support services
Veterans can use the digital card to access special healthcare services provided by their GP related to “physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the armed forces”, as well as mental health and wellbeing support.
It can also be used to engage with a government referral service for ex-personnel facing homelessness, and to a government-backed employment service that connects veterans with career advisors and veteran-friendly employers.
For now, the card can only be used in-person but the government said its functionality was “set to expand over the coming months to enable online use”.
The government has stressed that veterans are under no obligation to download the digital card to make use of the benefits and services available to them, and that it remained a strictly “optional” alternative to the physical version.
Read more: UK government launches GOV.UK digital services app for smartphones
Road to digital ID
The Veteran Card is the first digital credential to be stored in the GOV.UK One Login app, which was launched in July and enables citizens to access a range of online services. The government said at the time that the app would evolve to include a digital wallet to store identity documents, starting with the Veterans Card and later, digital driving licences.
In September, UK prime minister Keir Starmer announced the government’s plan to introduce a national digital ID card that would be an essential requirement for UK workers, as part of its plans to tackle illegal immigration, improve access to public services, and modernise the British state.
Civil liberty groups and members of the opposition have voiced scepticism about the efficacy and ethics of the scheme, which would need legislative approval before it could be rolled out.
Last week, the government announced that the Cabinet Office will have overall responsibility for the new digital identity scheme, including policy development, legislation and strategic oversight.
The Cabinet Office will work alongside the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which will be responsible for the technical design, build and delivery. The machinery of government change is effective immediately.
The move comes after the Labour government last year moved digital functions from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of a plan to make DSIT the “centre for digital expertise and delivery in government”.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “I look forward to adding the Cabinet Office’s capacity for coordination across departments to DSIT’s technical expertise, in order to help develop this product and make the most of its opportunities.”
Liz Kendall said: “This is a top priority for the prime minister that requires all government departments to be engaged so it is fantastic my colleague Darren Jones will be coordinating policy across government, leading on legislation and working with DSIT on the delivery and implementation of the scheme.
“It is only by working collaboratively that the government will be able to deliver this ground-breaking initiative.”
Read more: Global Government Forum launches Innovation in Defence & Security theme for Innovation 2026
About Jack Aldane
Jack is a British journalist, cartoonist and podcaster. He graduated from Heythrop College London in 2009 with a BA in philosophy, before living and working in China for three years as a freelance reporter. After training in financial journalism at City University from 2013 to 2014, Jack worked at Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters before moving into editing magazines on global trade and development finance. Shortly after editing opinion writing for UnHerd, he joined the independent think tank ResPublica, where he led a media campaign to change the health and safety requirements around asbestos in UK public buildings. As host and producer of The Booking Club podcast – a conversation series featuring prominent authors and commentators at their favourite restaurants – Jack continues to engage today’s most distinguished thinkers on the biggest problems pertaining to ideology and power in the 21st century. He joined Global Government Forum as its Senior Staff Writer and Community Co-ordinator in 2021.
