GDS signs $7m contract extensions to support new user sign-ups in GOV.UK Verify platform. Credit: Free-Photos from Pixabay.

The contract extension will allow the two partners of the GOV.UK Verify identity-assurance platform to offer the creation of new user identities until April 2022.

Recently, the UK government announced its plans to spend about £11m per year to support the maintenance of the Verify identity-assurance platform until April 2023.

Dutch firm Digidentity has secured two expansion and variation contracts worth $2.4m (£1.7m) and $271,156 (£191,494) and Post Office has signed two contracts worth $4.16m (£2.94m) and $464,638 (£328,134).

The GOV.UK Verify platform provides two levels of warranty.

Under the terms of the contract, the two providers will have to pay £6.50 for each new ID created at the higher LoA2 level while the price for creating a new ID at the lower level LoA1 has been removed from the contract.

The deals also makes the provision of transferring copies of user data and trust from the provider to the authorities before the contracts get terminated.

In order to support this transfer, the two organisations are also required to provide the user logged in to their account with an option to provide consent for transferring their data to the GDS.

Digidentity and Post Office should also be able to notify users that they are required to agree to the transfers if they wish to continue to use their Verify account beyond April 2022.

As part of the contract, the identity provider is required to provide a secure means of transferring a transferable copy of user data and user trust to the authorities, or to an alternative provider if the authorities require it.