• Public invited to contribute to draft rules around data protection, security and inclusivity
• Part of work to help people prove who they are without the need for physical documents
• Aim is to make people’s lives easier and boost the country’s £149 billion digital economy

The government has today published its draft rules of the road for governing the future use of digital identities. It is part of plans to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology and create a process as trusted as using passports or bank statements.

Digital identity products allow people to prove who they are, where they live or how old they are. They are set to revolutionise transactions such as buying a house, when people are often required to prove their identity multiple times to a bank, conveyancer or estate agent, and buying age-restricted goods online or in person.

The new ‘trust framework’ lays out the draft rules of the road organisations should follow. It includes the principles, policies, procedures and standards governing the use of digital identity to allow for the sharing of information to check people’s identities or personal details, such as a user’s address or age, in a trusted and consistent way. This will enable interoperability and increase public confidence.

The framework, once finalised, is expected to be brought into law. It has specific standards and requirements for organisations which provide or use digital identity services including:

• Having a data management policy which explains how they create, obtain, disclose, protect, and delete data;
• Following industry standards and best practice for information security and encryption;
• Telling the user if any changes, for example an update to their address, have been made to their digital identity;
• Where appropriate, having a detailed account recovery process and notifying users if organisations suspect someone has fraudulently accessed their account or used their digital identity;
• Following guidance on how to choose secure authenticators for their service.

Organisations will be required to publish a yearly report explaining which demographics have been, or are likely to have been, excluded from their service and why. The move will help make firms aware if there are inclusivity problems in their products while also boosting transparency.

The framework will also help promote the use of ‘vouching’, where trusted people within the community such as doctors or teachers ‘vouch for’ or confirm a person’s identity, as a useful alternative for those without traditional documents, such as passports and driving licences.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said:

Establishing trust online is absolutely essential if we are to unleash the future potential of our digital economy.

Today we are publishing draft rules of the road to guide organisations using new digital identity technology and we want industry, civil society groups and the public to make their voices heard.

Our aim is to help people confidently verify themselves while safeguarding their privacy so we can build back better and fairer from the pandemic.

Economists have estimated the cost of manual offline identity proofing could be as high as £3.3 billion per year. The new plans will not only make people’s lives easier but also give a boost to the country’s £149 billion digital economy by creating new opportunities for innovation, enabling smoother, cheaper and more secure online transactions, and saving businesses time and money.

The move has been welcomed by industry and civil society groups which have praised the government’s open and collaborative approach, as it works to develop a final trust framework that meets the needs of all users.

Stuart Young, Managing Director at Etive Technologies, said:

“This framework is key to developing a trusted digital identity market that will make people’s lives easier and save businesses time and money.

We look forward to contributing further to these plans to help make sure the final framework works for everyone in the home buying and selling sector.

Emma Lindley, Co-founder of Women In Identity, said:

We believe that digital identity systems should be inclusive and accessible for anyone that chooses to use them.

This collaborative approach by the government in designing the trust framework is a step in the right direction towards accountability across all stakeholders who are involved, and ensures no one is left behind.

The ‘trust framework’ forms part of the government’s commitment to taking a leading role in developing the digital identity market without the need for national identity cards. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will work with the digital identity community to develop the framework and aims to publish the next iteration in the summer. DCMS continues its work on proposals on laws that will underpin the digital identity market and will consult on these later this year.

Cabinet Office Minister Julia Lopez said:

Products that help digitally to verify a person’s identity are becoming increasingly important as more areas of our work and home lives move online. Creating a common trust framework will give greater clarity and certainty to organisations who want to work in this field about what is expected of them. More importantly, however, it will help to deepen users’ trust and confidence in digital identities and the standards we expect in the safeguarding of their personal data and privacy.

GDS is working closely with DCMS and across Government to develop guidance and products in support of the trust framework. We believe building users’ confidence will be fundamental to delivering our overall ambition to make it much easier and simpler for citizens to access government services online.

Notes to editors

• The full UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework is available online, along with details of how to provide comments and feedback.
• The new proposals, drawn up by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), will help restrict opportunities for criminals and allow organisations who choose to sign up know they are meeting the necessary requirements. This will help give people confidence that particular service protects their data and privacy.
• Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman chaired a series of roundtable sessions with industry and civil society groups in the autumn to hear first hand their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges involved in the government’s trust framework ambitions.

Two of LLWR’s most senior personnel are fine adverts for what can be achieved by going down the apprenticeship route after leaving school.

CEO Designate Martin Walkingshaw and Becky Ruddy, Head of Infrastructure, were both given a solid grounding in the nuclear industry as Sellafield apprentices.

Martin, currently Deputy CEO, hailed his apprenticeship with British Nuclear Fuels as a “great foundation” for his subsequent career.

He said: “I occasionally tease people who went down the university route that when they were contemplating a gap year, I was working with spent fuel and radioactive waste, and learning my trade, instrumentation and control, in some of the most advanced nuclear plants in the world, as well as some of the earliest!

“It isn’t an easy route, working full time and also studying (for me that meant day release/two-night classes a week) is hard, but the friendships I made during my apprenticeship have lasted a lifetime. An apprenticeship gave me confidence to seek more responsibility and encouraged me to be professionally curious.

“It also taught me about the fundamental importance of safety and quality in our industry. These things allowed me to advance through engineering, operations, business management and commercial roles. And even though my trade skills are a bit rusty I reckon I could still calibrate a gamma monitor. And you never know when that will come in handy.”

Becky went into her apprenticeship at 18 and has not regretted it for a moment.

“I had an interest in biology and chemistry at A level and applied for a Gen2 Scientific Apprenticeship,” she said. “I hadn’t felt ready to leave home and go to university so an apprentice was an ideal compromise. After spending a few weeks in the training centre we went straight into the workplace, at Sellafield, in the labs at THORP.

“An apprenticeship gave me the chance to learn about a subject I enjoyed, but also gave me an opportunity to put it into practice whilst getting paid.

“I learned about being part of a team and also about being accountable for my own work. It instilled a really good discipline in me early on I’ve been able to progress through my career after starting on the shop floor, where I got a really good grounding.”

Becky went on to complete her three year apprenticeship in just over two and moved into a staff job as an Analytical Chemist at Sellafield.

She added: “An apprenticeship can open so many doors and gives you the opportunity to do many different things. Mine was in quite a technical subject, but I am doing something totally different now, and there have been lots of things in between.”

Apprentice Chloe Glaister has been working as part of Becky’s team and receiving a thorough grounding in all aspects of the department. Chloe has also recently been successful in securing a permanent role following her apprenticeship.

“Chloe is doing a real job that is of value to LLWR whilst gaining experience and qualifications, and she is being supported in a ‘safe’ environment where she can learn,” Becky said. “She is gaining experience in different areas of Infrastructure under the direction of her mentor Megan who is doing a fantastic job supporting Chloe.”

Becky leaves LLWR at the end of this week after 11 years to take up a new role at Dounreay as Head of Decommissioning of the Fuel Cycle Areas. Where, no doubt, she will continue to take a keen interest in the development of her apprentices.

A landmark investment deal to boost economic growth across Argyll and Bute was agreed at a virtual signing event today (11 Feb 2021).

UK Government Minister for Scotland, Iain Stewart, joined Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson, and Argyll and Bute Council Leader, Councillor Robin Currie, to sign the Heads of Terms for the £70 million Rural Growth Deal.

The deal comprises £25 million each from the Scottish and UK governments, and at least £20 million from Argyll and Bute Council and partners. This will be used to create opportunities for people living in the region and attract further investment.

The Heads of Terms document sets out the themes for the 10 – 15 year programme of investment. Aquaculture, tourism, housing, digital connectivity and skills for a rural economy are among the sectors set for development.

UK Government Minister Iain Stewart said:

This is an important milestone for the Argyll and Bute Rural Growth Deal which will play a vital role in building back better from COVID-19.

These innovative and ambitious plans will unlock jobs, opportunities and sustainable growth for communities throughout the region.

The UK Government has committed more than £1.5 billion to growth deals across Scotland to secure our future prosperity.

The proposals, all of which are subject to approval of full business cases, will take advantage of existing regional strengths in tourism, food and farming, distilling and defence, and invest up £70 million in:

• Aquaculture: to develop the area as an international centre for excellence and create a marine industry training centre to support the growth of marine sectors
• Tourism: to develop the area as a West of Scotland “must visit” location for the maritime leisure market
• Low carbon economy: to deliver more sustainable local energy systems on Islay
• Skills: to support growth and work opportunities for rural communities
• Housing: to attract economic growth and provide affordable housing
• Clyde engineering and innovation cluster: to address the lack of commercial accommodation for supply services to Ministry of Defence facilities
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles hub at Oban Airport: to deliver the UK’s first dedicated drone training centre with indoor facilities
• Digital connectivity

These will also build on the opportunities represented by other UK Government investments in the region, including:

• The consolidation of the submarine fleet at HMNB Clyde by spreading the economic benefits across the region
• The UK Government’s Green Distilling Fund by supporting green energy solutions for Islay
• The UK Government’s existing City Region Deal investment at the National Aquaculture Centre at Stirling University by supporting further facilities at Machrihanish

The next stage is for the council and its partners to develop outline business cases that will set out the details of the projects for delivery.

Thank you Chair.

I am grateful for the opportunity to return to brief the Permanent Council for a second year as Chair of the Security Committee.

Thank you to the Swedish Chairpersonship for putting its faith in me to continue in this role and to implement your priorities in the field of transnational threats.

I am especially eager to be working again with all participating States to advance our work in this area. Indeed, I am already grateful for the dedicated and active participation of your experts in the informal meeting of the Security Committee on 25 January – including the colleagues who so expertly facilitated discussion in the virtual breakout rooms. This greatly helped in the planning of our work.

I am pleased to start the year by building on the success at the Tirana Ministerial Council with the agreed Declaration on Strengthening Co-operation in Countering Transnational Organized Crime.

According to the World Bank, the value of transnational criminal networks engaged in various manifestations of organised crime is growing and exceeded $US 1.3 trillion by 2018—equivalent to around 1.5 percent of global GDP.

It is particularly important to break the cycle of recruitment and ensure that institutions to fight transnational organised crime continue to be fit for purpose.

The COVID-19 pandemic of course affects this threat. After some initial disruption to their operations, transnational organised crime groups are benefitting from the ongoing crisis by exploiting or exacerbating long-term or structural vulnerabilities. This makes preventing the scourge even more important.

Malicious cyber activity causes economic loss and individual suffering and poses a national security threat to our countries. The last year has forced all of us to rely even more heavily on digital technologies for nearly all aspects of our lives – this has brought the cyber skills gap and cyber security itself into much sharper focus.

The threat from terrorism and violent extremism has also sadly not diminished. Last year saw appalling terrorist attacks and loss of life in the OSCE area, including here in Vienna. The pandemic has provided another febrile atmosphere for terrorists and violent extremists to thrive, including those on the far right.

So the Security Committee work programme seeks to focus on these core areas. Transnational organised crime is a priority of the Swedish Chairpersonship-in-Office (CiO). Our meetings on this topic seek to operationalise the Tirana declaration in key strategic areas. Across all transnational threats, there is also a priority to implement existing commitments.

Our programme recognises the importance of cyber security. It also recognises your feedback that counter terrorism and violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism (VERLT) continue to be priority themes for many participating States and we’ve selected a framework of themes in this area to explore.

Through the timings of the meetings, I aim to maximise links and synergies with Chairperson and OSCE conferences: the OSCE wide counter-terrorism conference in April, the CiO cyber conference in May and the drugs conference in June.

Importantly, there is also a link, either directly or through the wider issues raised, between the programme and the overarching horizontal Chairperson themes for each month. And I aim to add value in the context of the work of the Committee to these monthly themes.

In the delivery of our programme, I aim for an inclusive, dynamic and de-politicised debate with more discussion and interaction with and between experts to explore the technical issues in detail.

While, like all of you, I hope for a safe return to in-person meetings soon, while the virtual format remains I aim to maximise the opportunities it offers to facilitate diverse expert participation, including in capitals.

I will seek ways through the structure of our meetings to help maximise debate and interaction, and to be as creative as possible. But, as ever, I rely on your help too to make their delivery a success.

I will continue an approach of meaningful gender mainstreaming, as well as the mainstreaming of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Gender dynamics are part the transnational threat ecosystem we face so must therefore be part of our discussions in preventing and combatting it.

And we can only effectively do that in full compliance with our human rights commitments. The voices and experience of civil society are a way to help guide us in this and I will ensure robust civil society representation in our meetings.

I will also continue to fully involve the OSCE field missions in our meetings to help bridge the gap between the work in Vienna and activity on the ground. I am hopeful we will this year meet the ambition for the Committee to visit an OSCE field mission.

I set out at the Permanent Council around this time last year my belief in the potential of the Security Committee. A year on, I have seen how this potential can be realised through our collective hard work and political will. I am excited to continue this journey and my team and I seek to be open, transparent and responsive to your feedback on how we’re doing.

Thank you.

• Action will support recovery by stripping away unnecessary legislative bureaucracy, empowering local leaders and services and tackling health inequalities
• The reforms build on the NHS’s Long Term Plan proposals and a bill will be laid in Parliament when parliamentary time allows to carry the proposals into law

The Health and Social Care Secretary, with the support of NHS England and health and care system leaders, will today set out new proposals to build on the successful NHS response to the pandemic. The proposals will bring health and care services closer together to build back better by improving care and tackling health inequalities through measures to address obesity, oral health and patient choice.

The measures set out today, in a government white paper to be published on GOV.UK, will modernise the legal framework to make the health and care system fit for the future and put in place targeted improvements for the delivery of public health and social care. It will support local health and care systems to deliver higher-quality care to their communities, in a way that is less legally bureaucratic, more accountable and more joined up, by bringing together the NHS, local government and partners together to tackle the needs of their communities as a whole.

The proposals build on the NHS’ recommendations for legislative change in the Long Term Plan and come a decade on from the last major piece of health and care legislation. While the NHS has made practical adaptations within the current legal framework, this can be unnecessarily time consuming and changes are now necessary as part of the future recovery process from the pandemic.

The measures include proposals to make integrated care the default, reduce legal bureaucracy, and better support social care, public health and the NHS. The reforms will enable the health and care sector to use technology in a modern way, establishing it as a better platform to support staff and patient care, for example by improving the quality and availability of data across the health and care sector to enable systems to plan for the future care of their communities.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

The NHS and local government have long been calling for better integration and less burdensome bureaucracy, and this virus has made clear the time for change is now.

These changes will allow us to build back better and bottle the innovation and ingenuity of our brilliant staff during the pandemic, where progress was made despite the legal framework, rather than because of it.

The proposals build on what the NHS has called for and will become the foundations for a health and care system which is more integrated, more innovative and responsive, and more ready to respond to the challenges of tomorrow, from health inequalities to our ageing population.

By acting now, the government can make permanent some of the beneficial changes where COVID-19 has catalysed new and better ways of working and clear the path for improvements into the next decade such as delivering on manifesto commitments including 50,000 more nurses and 40 new hospitals.

Sir Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of the NHS, said:

Our legislative proposals go with the grain of what patients and staff across the health service all want to see – more joined-up care, less legal bureaucracy and a sharper focus on prevention, inequality and social care.

This legislation builds on the past seven years of practical experience and experimentation across the health service and the flexible ‘can-do’ spirit NHS staff have shown in spades throughout the pandemic.

The proposals are designed to be flexible, allowing the health and care system to continue to evolve, and are designed to better equip the NHS and local health services to meet the longer-term health and societal challenges over the coming decades.

Key measures included in the ‘Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all’ white paper include:

• The NHS and local government to come together legally as part of integrated care systems to plan health and care services around their patients’ needs, and quickly implement innovative solutions to problems which would normally take years to fix, including moving services out of hospitals and into the community, focusing on preventative healthcare
• Hardworking NHS staff currently waste a significant amount of time on unnecessary tendering processes for healthcare services. Under today’s proposals, the NHS will only need to tender services when it has the potential to lead to better outcomes for patients. This will mean staff can spend more time on patients and providing care, and local NHS services will have more power to act in the best interests of their communities
• The safety of patients is at the heart of NHS services. The upcoming bill will put the Healthcare Safety Investigations Branch permanently into law as a statutory body so it can continue to reduce risk and improve safety. The Healthcare Safety Investigations Branch already investigates when things go wrong without blaming people, so that mistakes can be learned from, and this strengthens its legal footing
• A package of measures to deliver on specific needs in the social care sector. This will improve oversight and accountability in the delivery of services through new assurance and data sharing measures in social care, update the legal framework to enable person-centred models of hospital discharge, and introduce improved powers for the Secretary of State to directly make payments to adult social care providers where required
• The pandemic has shown the impact of inequalities on public health outcomes and the need for government to act to help level up health across the country. Legislation will help to support the introduction of new requirements about calorie labelling on food and drink packaging and the advertising of junk food before the 9pm watershed

Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said:

We welcome the central proposals to drive integration and support greater collaboration through integrated care systems (ICS), that go beyond the traditional NHS boundaries. This is absolutely the right direction of travel for health and care more widely.

Legislation won’t make collaboration happen, but it can remove barriers and facilitate the changes that the NHS really needs as we move into the post-pandemic recovery stage.

It is vital that we see genuine clinical engagement at every level of the operation of the ICS to drive collaboration.

We will look forward to reviewing the full range of proposals and engaging in the development of the legislation.

The legislation will fold Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority into NHS England, while maintaining the clinical and day to day operational independence of the NHS. Corresponding reforms will ensure the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has the right levers to ensure accountability back to Parliament and taxpayers.

The white paper sets out the government’s proposals for legislation, building on the extensive consultation that has already been undertaken by NHS England. A bill will be laid before Parliament later in the year.

The government intends to bring forward separate proposals on social care reform later this year.

Ed Garratt, Executive Lead for the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, said:

I welcome the white paper, as the lead of an integrated care system, as it gives clearer accountability for the NHS and at a system level formalises shared governance across the NHS, local government and other partners. The proposals will support greater collective effort on improving outcomes for our population, which is the ultimate purpose of our work.

Case study on joined-up care

Greater integration of services across the NHS, voluntary sector and local authority has enabled Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to provide more effective support to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

By establishing a community-based mental health crisis First Response Service (FRS), the county has been able to provide responsive support for anyone experiencing mental health crisis.

Before the service was launched, there was no capacity to see people in need of mental health care out of hours, except via A&E. And there was no self-referral route, meaning many sought help direct from A&E.

Open 24/7, the FRS provides support for people of all ages across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It welcomes self-referrals as well as urgent referrals from carers, GPs, ambulance crews, police and the emergency department. The result has been a 20% reduction in the use of the emergency department for mental healthcare and a 26% decrease in the number of people with mental health needs being admitted to acute hospitals from the emergency department.

It has also resulted in fewer ambulance call-outs, assessments and conveyances to the emergency department and reduced the need for out of hours GPs to see people in mental health crisis.

Case study on bureaucracy

The Department of Health and Social Care’s consultation reviewed what bureaucracy looks like in the health and care system. It found that NHS staff felt that unnecessary bureaucracy is time-consuming, frustrating and stressful, largely because they felt it took them away from patient care.

In Manchester, following the 2012 reforms, re-tendering and re-procurement have become much more frequent to meet competition regulations, even when they are won repeatedly by the same organisation. In order to overcome this hurdle, the Local Government Association shifted the procurement window of a project on homelessness in Manchester from 3 to 7 years. The new re-procurement period allowed the organisation to retain staff, think longer term about the project and to consider innovative solutions that had been impossible before because of time constraints.