A new GovTech programme has been launched to assist vulnerable residents of Tower Hamlets access online services by helping them to build a digital identity.

Etive, a digital data management solutions company, has been working with Tower Hamlets Discovery and Alpha projects to assess the how the use of local authority data, collected and stored in a Digital Log Book, can create secure digital identity profiles to help citizens build a digital footprint.

Partners for the testing include the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Government Digital Service, Post Office, DWP and the Open Identity Exchange.

The data profile built up is fully interoperable with GOV.UK’s flagship digital identity scheme Verify, which came in for heavy criticism from MPs recently for missing targets and failing members of the public, three years after it was first rolled out.

A GOV.UK Verify digital identity can be used to access a variety of government services, such as DWP benefits, without having to go through the identity checking process each time.

Stuart Young, managing director of Etive, said: “Proof of identity is a prerequisite to being able to access critical services and to participate in modern social and economic systems.”

A spokesperson for DWP Digital added: “The world of digital identity is a key part of any digital service meaning that DWP, in line with our general approach, will look to explore a range of solutions right across the spectrum of identity and trust.”

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