Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a remote ID verification process for people applying for Universal Credit from remote and island communities.

When applying for Universal Credit (UC), a claimant is required to confirm their identity by using the on-line service, as part of the claim process. Where a claimant has not attempted online verification, or has attempted and failed, then they will be asked to attend a face-to-face interview (F2F). This process would be different for each claimant including those from remote and island communities. It is necessary to undertake this to ensure the claimant is who they say they are and to prevent fraud.