Updated impact assessment of the draft legislation on people with protected characteristics
Updated 26 June 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-legislation-to-help-more-people-prove-their-identity-online/outcome/updated-impact-assessment-of-the-draft-legislation-on-people-with-protected-characteristics
A Public Sector Equality Duty exercise (PSED) was conducted in relation to the draft Digital Government (Disclosure of Information)(Identity Verification Services) Regulation 2023. The draft regulations would enable data sharing across the public sector to support identity verification services, which in turn would improve access for individuals and households to government services.
The PSED concentrated on assessing whether any individuals with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act (2010) and any additional groups are likely to be disadvantaged and/or negatively impacted as a result of the proposed data-sharing legislation.
Through this exercise we identified a number of positive impacts on the basis of disability, age and gender reassignment specifically. We have further identified positive impacts on individuals from low socio-economic groups and individuals without access to a passport and/or driving licence.
Our analysis revealed that specific groups face more challenges than expected when using GOV.UK Verify to prove their identity online to access government services. These protected groups specifically included young people and disabled people. We further identified that individuals without access to a passport and/or driving licence also faced disproportionate challenges.
These groups are likely to benefit from the proposed data-sharing legislation as it will allow them to draw on a wide range of data sources to successfully prove their identity online to access government services online, and to reuse their identities to access different government services.
We identified that the legislation will reduce the need for in-person identity proofing procedures. This will increase the accessibility of government services for individuals who suffer from a disability which means they may be unable to, or find it difficult, to complete an in-person check.
We further identified that the legislation will benefit individuals on low incomes who cannot afford a passport and/or driving licence, documents which are often used to prove one’s identity online, as they will be able to draw on a wider range of data sources to prove their identity. Additionally, young people, with a limited credit and address history, will also be able to access more data sources to verify their identity.
The proposed legislation will also allow users to prove their identity just once in order to access different government services that require similar levels of assurance. Therefore, individuals from specific groups will not be faced with entering the same information over and over again, and potentially facing the same barriers to inclusion.
We have not identified any elements of this amendment that discriminate against any of the protected characteristics, either directly or indirectly. That being said, the impacts on certain groups facing more complex barriers to proving who they are online, like the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community, could be better understood. We are aware of the importance of measuring the impact of the legislation on these communities, and we intend to conduct research with these groups in the future. Updates to the PSED will monitor the progress of this research.
The PSED is a working document and will be reviewed to reflect any new evidence or information that may impact individuals with protected characteristics as a result of this secondary legislation.