New Tool To Make It Easier And Faster For Public To Access Essential Government Services Online

4th November 2024

GOV.UK Forms, a new tool for faster, more accessible online government forms, will be rolled out nationwide after successful trials showed major time savings and improved efficiency.

GOV.UK Forms to be rolled out across government, making it faster and easier for the public to fill out forms such as applying for emergency travel documents.

Tool has already helped over 20,000 armed forces personal apply for veteran badges and victims of the Horizon scandal apply for compensation.

With 87 forms live and used by over 1,200 civil servants, GOV.UK Forms marks a key step in the UK government's digital transformation.

People across the country will be able to complete government forms online more quickly and easily, boosting efficiency and speeding up access to support.

The new tool, GOV.UK Forms, has already been used to speed up registration for redress for more than 300 sub-postmasters affected by the Horizon IT scandal by removing the need for lengthy paperwork, print-outs and administrative hurdles - with forms taking less than five minutes to complete.

It's also been used by the public to register XL Bully dogs and recruit over 400 new volunteer coastguards, with the tool already saving an estimated two years in processing time.

GOV UK Forms will transform how the public fill out applications and forms on GOV.UK by offering them an online platform to fill in their details instead - meaning they no longer have to rely on clunky PDFs or lengthy paperwork, which is inefficient and less accessible.

The tool will now be rolled out across all government departments after a successful trial and provide civil servants with a digital platform that allows them to create and manage secure, accessible forms online.

Harnessing the power of technology will be crucial to support the government in achieving its mission of making public services work for working people, grow the economy, and make everyone across the country better off.

Minister for AI and Digital Government Feryal Clark will unveil the full rollout of GOV.UK Forms at the Digital Nations Ministerial Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark today.

Speaking on the platform's success, Minister Clark said:

We're enabling citizens to access essential government services more easily and securely, whether it’s applying for long overdue compensation or to become a volunteer.

Not only will this modernise how the public interacts with us, but it allows departments to focus resources on improving public services - rather than administrative tasks.

This early success marks the start of our ongoing mission to refine digital tools, building trust and ensuring government works for everyone, everywhere.

Following successful private beta and early access phases, GOV.UK Forms will now enter a ‘public beta’ testing phase, which will mean it is applied more widely where citizens need to share information with the government.

To date, 87 forms have been published, with over 1,200 government users adopting the platform, saving more than two years in processing time.

Christine Bellamy, CEO of the Government Digital Service (GDS) said:

GOV.UK Forms enables people running government services to create online forms in minutes, without the need for coding or design skills.

By enabling teams to replace paper-based forms with digital alternatives that are quicker to process, more secure and more accessible, we’re helping to realise a more modern digital government that helps to give people their time back.

The platform complies with government standards on accessibility and cyber security, enabling all users, including those with access needs, to use the forms easily and securely. It also meets accessibility standards and regularly tests new features to keep the forms easy to use for everyone.

GOV.UK Forms is part of a wide range of initiatives in the government’s digital transformation, enhancing efficiency, security, and accessibility for citizens across the UK.

Minister Clark’s announcement at the summit will mark a pivotal step forward for GOV.UK Forms as it becomes an essential tool in modernising public engagement with government services.