ADVP chair addresses UK Home Affairs Committee on issue of digital RTW checks

In its continuing campaign to build the case for UK digital identity firms certified under the Digital Identity and Attributes Framework (DIATF), the Association of Digital Verification Professionals (ADVP) is speaking to the people at the top. Specifically, last week, to the Home Affairs Select Committee, as part of its inquiry into “Harnessing the potential of new digital forms of identification.”

A post on ADVP’s LinkedIn page celebrates chair David Crack’s appearance in front of the committee, calling it “a real milestone moment – not just for ADVP, but for the UK’s wider digital verification community to put its case.”

Crack explains ADVP’s reasoning, saying that Digital Verification Services (DVS) certified under the DIATF bring consistency and reliability to the table, particularly in the case of Right to Work (RTW) checks. “What is the problem that needs to be solved?” he asks, suggesting that a national digital ID – seen as a threat to the viability of the private sector – won’t necessarily solve the RTW issue.

DIATF-certified DVS providers, he says, are “mobilized and ready to do that work.” They are equipped to handle pressing fraud concerns, notably in employment, where impersonation and deepfakes have become nagging problems. Indeed, Crack says, the ADVP has literally been trying for years to share its insights on fraud prevention with the government.

“We have intelligence on fraud and impersonation that we would like to share with the Home Office – but there is no one to share it with.”

DIATF-certified vendors ‘have to jump through quite a few hoops’

Questions about privacy, surveillance and political temperatures are inevitable. Crack calls attention to data retention restrictions for ADVP vendors, and argues that, rather than keeping people out of work, digital RTW checks could actually help them get work faster.

In fact, if efficiency is a factor, he says, the private sector wins overall: “even if things go well with a government-issued digital identity, you’re not looking at that to be used for right-to-work for a number of years yet.”

Meanwhile, the private sector is already delivering services and building the infrastructure for trust. And they’re doing it under strict scrutiny. “Each of the organizations have to be certified up to an ISO standard 27001 for security, and suchlike in quality. In addition to that, we go through a certification process by independent UKAS auditors, to make sure that the technology’s working as it should.”

“This is a trust framework, and for that trust framework to work, we have to be working to standards that are rigorous, that are auditable and consistent.” On the other hand, he says, personal data sovereignty, which the industry is moving toward, does not look anything like a centralized, mandatory government-issued digital ID.

On questions of cost, Crack emphasizes the range of market options and models available. “There’s a lot of downward pressure on pricing,” he says. But the trust DVS providers bring to the table is worth the cost.

Appreciate what you have, avoid temptation: Crack

The overarching message is that the government is looking the wrong way – pulling the policy version of the popular “distracted boyfriend meme.” There is work to be done on the education and public communications level, to make sure employers of all sizes understand what’s required of them; funnelling energy and resources into infrastructure that already exists is bound to raise hackles among those who have built it.

Crack is frank in his assessment of the government’s digital ID announcement: “it poisoned the well,” he says, “and caused a lot of distraction away from the alternatives that we can look to right away. Rather than talking about changes that need legislation and are quite controversial, there are initiatives we can do now that can make a real difference, rather than diverting energy into talking about national digital ID for RTW checks.”

“As an industry, we’re out there, we’re doing it now.”

Back on LinkedIn, ADVP says Crack’s message is clear: “This industry is built around protecting personal data and identity, tackling fraud head-on, and designing systems people can rely on in real life, not just on paper.”

“People should have real control over their own information. Not just access – control. That’s why strong backing for the DVS Trust Framework is so important if the UK wants a system that’s secure, consistent and ready for the future.”

Put succinctly, “smarter verification means less fraud, more privacy, stronger trust.”

Gov’t more likely than industry to change position

The debate continues, and the government’s position has already shifted. It has “clarified” that digital ID wouldn’t be mandatory to work in the UK; according to the BBC, “instead, Labour ministers say existing checks, using documents such as biometric passports, will move fully online by 2029.”

Meanwhile, a national identity scheme for the UK polls relatively well. Ipsos says 57 percent of Britons support the introduction of national ID cards, with support highest among Conservative voters and those over 55. More in Common finds 53 percent in favour of digital ID, with 25 percent strongly in favour and only 19 percent against, across all ages.

But who to trust? David Crack says the answer is clear.

“We are organizations whose sole responsibility is to ensure we are combating fraud, and introducing trust into the organization. You wouldn’t give your money to an organization that’s not trusted and regulated and are going to look after your interests, because they have that respoinsibikuty. Within the DVS Trust Framework, we have that same responsibility, but it’s about your data.”

Views on UK digital ID scheme multiply among industry, public, privacy advocates

Article Topics

ADVP  |  David Crack  |  DIATF certification  |  digital ID  |  digital verification service (DVS)  |  UK  |  UK digital ID