What is your role and how have you work with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to introduce digital identity for DBS checks?
As part of my role as Chief Identity Officer at DBS Check Online UK?
I am responsible for introducing digital identity verification into DBS check service offerings. DBS Check Online UK have work closely with DCMS to align DBS Check digital identity requirements with the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework allowing DBS or Disclosure & Barring Service Check to become one of the first cases use of DBS checks, alongside the Home Office and Right to Work and Right to Rent check.
What would you say to employers or candidates who are unsure about embracing digital identity and the benefits you can derive from it?
As DBS Check Online UK introduce digital identity verification
DBS Check will also maintain existing routes for employers and applicants. However, Digital Identity Service Providers will allow people to upload images of their personal documents to verify their identity remotely and submit electronic DBS checks or Disclosure & Barring Service Check. Working time and hours spent on checks will be reduce, as employers will no longer need to physically examine identity documents. Digital identity service providers will also be able to carry out checks on behalf of employers on a large scale, for example in large recruitment campaigns when a high number of new employees are recruit.
How does the framework work and what are the obligations of a register organization?
The DCMS Trust Framework defines the rules and standards for verifying digital identity. These rules not only apply to DBS checks, but will also be use in the future by other industry sectors such as pensions and finance, travel, age verification and the buying and selling of houses. This means that an identity use in one sector can be use for other purposes, thus enabling interoperability. The DBS checks or Disclosure & Barring Service Check and Right to Work/Right to Hire Identity Trust Schemes are the first government sectors to adopt the Trust Framework and require an identity provider to certify its products and services to the standards set out in the new frame.
The role of the Register Organization (RB),
As relying party, is to ensure that identity checks comply with DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check requirements. In practice, this means using a certify DBS Check Online UK to ensure that the appropriate level of identity assurance is achieve and that the applicant’s current address is verify before applications are submit.
There seems to be some uncertainty as to when the digital identity can be use. Can you shed some light on the process that needs to be follow to enable a register organization to use a digital identity solution, and the timeline for this?
DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check release its Identity Trust Scheme in January 2022. However, the scheme requires Identity Service Providers to be certify by the DCMS Trust Framework. The audit and certification phase is currently underway for Identity Service Providers, and once approve, RBs can contract with Identity Service Providers to process DBS check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check.
Quickly and efficiently check a person’s right to work status in the UK with our app-base solution.
Read also: What is a CRO – Contract Research Organization?
Learn more about DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check
So a register organization will have to wait for Identity Service Providers to be certify and then seek to bring a certified provider into the current journey?
It’s true. Once an Identity Service Providers has been approved by the DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check, their name and confirmation of their certification will be publish on GOV.UK.
Will digital identity work alongside manual document verification and not be a direct replacement?
Yes – DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check have been very clear in the digital identity guidelines that manual verification of documents is equivalent to the digital identity guidelines. This means that organizations have a choice of which method to use when processing a request.
How will an employer know that a register organization they work with is using a Certify Identity Provider?
DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check will publish Identity Service Providers certified through GOV.UK and the trust schemes they have been approve for (either DBS checks, right to hire/right to work, or both).
Employers will be able to confirm with RBs that Identity Service Providers is one of the providers. DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check will also receive, as part of the BS Check application, the name of the Identity Service Providers and will audit the RBs to ensure that only certify suppliers are use.
How will digital identity affect the documents people can use when applying for DBS Check?
DBS checks or Disclosure & Barring Service Check has always been very prescriptive about what documents an applicant can use to verify their identity. This varies depending on whether they are a UK or overseas candidate, and whether the role is paid or voluntary.
The digital approach to identity verification allows DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check to specify a level of trust that must be met in order to confirm that the identity is genuine. For Enhanced and Standard DBS checks, DBS specifies a high confidence level, and for a Basic DBS check, DBS specifies a medium confidence level.
Identity Service Providers will help applicants achieve the required level of trust using a range of identity documents and evidentiary techniques, depending on what the applicant holds. The strongest documentary evidence is a passport containing a bio-metric chip. DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) recommends that a candidate always use the strongest available document they have.
Some people may worry about digital checks – how secure are they?
The trust framework outlines the standards that Identity Service Providers must adhere to to ensure that the data processed and stored is secure. Identity Service Providers who achieve certification will have demonstrated provision of sufficient Information Security Management Systems (ISMS), compliance with data protection law and necessary fraud controls. The current version of the DBS Check Online UK can be viewed here: Trust Framework for UK Digital Identity and Attributes – www.gov.uk.
Can you clarify identity versus eligibility – for example, will an isolated identity check be sufficient for a registered organization to process a criminal record check?
Eligibility for standard or enhanced DBS checks or Disclosure & Barring Service Check remains a matter for the employer and RBs to establish in accordance with DBS Guidance. Once eligibility for these checks has been established, any identity verified by an Identity Service Providers certified to the appropriate trust level can be used.
Finally, we share a passion for digitizing the recruitment process – what’s next? Will we see a digital version of the certificate and does DBS Check or Disclosure & Barring Service Check have other plans?
DBS Check Online UK also share this passion and appreciate that digitization will help speed up the recruitment process and help people get to work faster. From an identity perspective, we will do more work to help marginalized groups prove their identity remotely. These are people who may not have access to the necessary technology or who may not have the right documents.
If you have any questions, please Contact DBS Check Online UK directly.
