A limited beta version of the One Login mechanism for government services has gone into effect at the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
Natalie Jones, director of digital identity at the Government Digital Service (GDS), which is running the One Login for Government programme, has referred to the move in an update blogpost.
She added that GDS also has a beta version of an identity checking app for people with driving licences running with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for Government Gateway users.
The browser based version of One Login in use at DBS has come later than originally scheduled for April, but soon after Jones said it would be available within weeks at a conference in June. The agency was identified as the first planned to use the service late last year.
It is aimed at providing identity verification with different levels of assurance depending on the level of confidence needed for a process.
The mobile app being tested with HMRC is being developed under a contract with Deloitte and is aimed at enabling smartphone users to access multiple central government services.
Jones said work is also taking place on making it possible for the app to use passports and biometric residence permits as well as driving licences.
Additional workstreams
In addition, GDS is working on a face-to-face route and a set of knowledge based questions for identity verification, and on the potential vouching, under which one person who is already trusted can legally vouch for the identity of another. The latter has recently been promoted in a paper from the Open Identity Exchange.
“So, we’ve made big steps forward in terms of building the things that departments have asked for, and this will remain our core focus for the next six months at least,” Jones said.
“However, in parallel, we’re starting to work through the complexities of user migration, how our account functionality needs to work, and how we can start to re-use identities verified in one place to access services in another.”
She added that GDS plans to map existing progress with the programme to the Good Practice Guide framework for verifying identities to understand the relative levels of assurance needed.
Heather Wheeler MP, the Cabinet Office minister overseeing GDS, recently indicated that a handful of pilot projects using the service will be launched during the autumn.
