The consultation, which runs until 11.45pm on Monday 13th September, is seeking views on issues such as how to digitally check authoritative government-held data, such as passports, via trusted organisations.

Other issues covered by the consultation include establishing a trusted and responsible governance system for digital identities, and a way of establishing the legal validity of digital identities and attributes so they are held in the same esteem as physical proofs of identity.

The government believes that online authentication, identity and eligibility solutions can increase security, ease of use and accessibility to public services, as well as helping people operate in an increasingly digital economy.

It is estimated that widespread use of digital identity products could be worth around £800m a year to the UK economy and reduce levels of personal data abuse and impersonation.

In a statement, Matt Warman MP, minister for digital infrastructure at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Julia Lopez MP, parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office, said: “If someone wants to prove who they are when starting a job, moving house, or transacting online, they ought to have the tools do so quickly and securely in a digital manner, as an option alongside using the physical documents we are most familiar with.

“Too often, people in the UK have to use a combination of paper documents issued by government, local authorities and the private sector – and a mixture of offline and online routes – when they need to prove something about themselves. And they have to repeat the process for each new transaction.”