Digital

ScotAccount is finalist in Delivering for Citizens Award – transforming access to public services in Scotland 

December 11, 2025 by Stewart Hamilton No Comments | Category Digital Identity, Digital Scotland, ScotAccount

Blog post by Trudy Nicolson, ScotAccount Programme Director, the Scottish Government. 

We’re delighted to share that ScotAccount was a finalist in the Delivering for Citizens Award at the 2025 Civil Service Awards, a recognition of teams that put people first and deliver measurable improvements to public services. As the only submission from the Scottish Government to be shortlisted from a total of 2,500 entries, it’s quite an achievement. 

image of frame Civil Service Awards finalist certificate on a table 

Trudy Nicolson, ScotAccount Programme Director: “We’re thrilled that the ScotAccount team was a finalist for this award. This achievement celebrates the incredible dedication and innovation of our team in making public services more accessible and user-friendly for the people of Scotland. Congratulations to all the winners and those who were shortlisted alongside the ScotAccount team – your hard work and commitment are truly inspiring!”  

Built for people, with people 

Our work to develop and deliver ScotAccount includes robust testing and applying ongoing improvements to ensure ScotAccount is reliable, accessible and easy to use.  

To achieve this, we’ve engaged with a diverse group of users with varying needs, and to date, over 1,100 people have participated in in-depth user research.  

We’ve also included people who have used the service in our research and conduct regular user surveys to gain insights as we release service improvements and new features.  

As we continue to add new services for people to access through ScotAccount, user insights will continue to shape the development of ScotAccount, ensuring it meets the needs of public services and their users.  

We’ll be sharing more insights on our approach to user research and continuous improvement in a future blog. 

Real impact 

Launched by the Scottish Government in 2023, ScotAccount provides a secure, simple way for people to access public services online. It allows users to sign in with a single account, verify their identity, if needed, and control their information, reducing duplication and inefficiencies across services in the Scottish public sector.  

ScotAccount exemplifies innovative, reusable, scalable digital infrastructure, offering biometric and non-biometric verification, and enabling verified data to be reused across services. It addresses previous barriers where multiple logins and repeated identity checks hindered users and services. Designed for inclusivity, this voluntary service also supports people without photo ID and meets accessibility standards through ongoing user-centred design and testing. 

Delivering measurable benefits and aiding public service reform, ScotAccount provides easy integration with other systems, reduces manual processing and service support contact, while enhancing privacy and fraud protection. Current usage sees around 10,000 accounts created weekly, with 80% successfully verifying identity and 99% choosing to save their data for reuse, demonstrating user trust and satisfaction in the service.  

ScotAccount is transforming the way people access public services such as disclosure checks, witness statements, debt management, registration for tobacco and vape sales, and more, saving thousands of pounds per week in postage and processing for disclosure checks alone.  

Find out more by watching our: 

• explainer video for user  

• explainer video for service customer  

Looking Ahead 

Throughout 2026 the ScotAccount team will be continuing to explore new, more inclusive ways to help people who might otherwise struggle to verify their identity to access public services. We recently launched with NHS Scotland’s health and care online service MyCare.scot and will continue to support them as they grow the service, as well as exploring new features that will further benefit services and users. 

Being an award finalist is a testament to Scotland’s commitment to delivering better outcomes for the people of Scotland. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this achievement. Together, we’re building a more inclusive, secure, and efficient digital future for Scotland. 

Tags: digital, digital identity, digital public services, ScotAccount

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