GOV.UK Verify has agreements with seven certified companies that the government has approved to verify users\u2019 identity. The certified companies have to meet government and international standards for security and data protection.<\/p>
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For a GOV.UK Verify user to have their identity verified, the certified companies look at a range of evidence and checks to establish that users are who they say they are. There are five identity proofing and verification elements involved, and the companies have to achieve thresholds in each element before they can verify someone\u2019s identity.<\/p>
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We are committed to delivering a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet the needs of all consumers. In March, the government hosted the first meeting of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, a new key initiative bringing together government, regulators, industry and the third sector to coordinate action and provide leadership in tackling these challenges. The Forum\u2019s mission is to ensure that individuals, regardless of their background or income, have access to useful and affordable financial products and services, including affordable credit.<\/p>
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The government also supports credit unions, which provide an affordable alternative to high-cost credit. In the Autumn Budget 2017, the government announced its intention to help the sector expand by increasing the number of potential members of credit unions from two million to three million. In addition, from this year a greater proportion of funds recovered from illegal money lenders will be allocated to incentivise vulnerable people to join, save, and borrow with a credit union instead of turning to loan sharks.<\/p>
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In addition, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for setting the direction for the spend of dormant assets funding. In March 2018, the Department, with the Big Lottery Fund, published a statement of intent for £55 million in funding for financial inclusion. This statement sets out that the money will be put towards increasing the use of fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services. This includes credit products and services, along with savings and insurance products and services. Following an ongoing engagement exercise, Ministers are expected to issue formal policy directions to the Big Lottery Fund about the detailed focus of a programme and what it should achieve in summer 2018<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4247", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ashton of Hyde"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ashton of Hyde"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-04-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-04-16T11:42:25.223Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "10"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-03-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Proof of Identity: Internet"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to authenticate individuals' digital identities, including as part of the gov.uk verify scheme; and what plans they have to promote affordable and suitable financial and credit products and services.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4564", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Bird"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Bird"} ], "uin" : "HL6793"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 1, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }