Temporary suspension of the issuing of National Insurance Numbers to continue
20 January 2021
The CIPP reported, in News Online, that, due to the outbreak of coronavirus, new National Insurance Numbers (NINo) were not being issued, and only temporary numbers were being provided to certain individuals.
This was because the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has a legal requirement to check that applicants have the right to work in the UK, and to confirm their identity, before issuing any NINos. This meant that it was only possible to accept applications from individuals granted permission to work in the UK by the Home Office prior to them coming to the UK, as the DWP can validate those applications with the Home Office. For other applicants, who have not interacted with the Home Office, their identity and right to work is ordinarily confirmed at a face-to-face interview, all of which have been temporarily suspended, as a result of coronavirus.
In the December edition of the Employer Bulletin, it stated:
“To support the reinstatement of our NINo service, DWP is developing a digital solution in order to reintroduce the process incrementally during the autumn.”
The CIPP’s Advisory team has highlighted the fact that members are asking about this digital solution, so the Policy team contacted the DWP for comment. We have received confirmation that the department is currently working to introduce the development of alternative identity verification solutions, which will remove the need for face-to-face identity checks in the future for some of its customer groups, including EU nationals with Settled or Pre-Settled status. Additionally, they are working on a digital solution that aims to reduce the length of the NINo interview process, and that testing began on a small scale in October 2020. This has been made available to a small number of applicants during the testing phase, and it is hoped that the service will be made available more widely to NINo applicants who require a face-to-face identity check in early 2021.
The department has emphasised the fact, however, that the position remains fluid, due to the ever-evolving restrictions put in place due to coronavirus, and because of the development of alternative processes.
Before the new solution is rolled out, individuals should continue to check GOV.UK for an announcement that the service has recommenced.
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