The team has been engaged in a lot of research and debate around what appropriate safeguards for a modernised LPA might look like, and decided to investigate a number of these we see as the highest risk for initial testing. We wanted to use prototypes to explore citizen views and opinions on various approaches, and to begin to understand what is feasible, desirable and usable in any future service where identity must be assured, proportionately and without excluding people from applying for an LPA. After discussion over the relative merits of the available options, we settled on the following journey:

We showed the prototype to 6 people - 4 women and 2 men. 4 were donors on an LPA, 1 had started an LPA and 1 had no experience of making an LPA. None of the people we spoke to had used a solicitor to make their LPA, although 3 had consulted a solicitor and found the costs quoted to be prohibitive.

Their online experience and confidence ranged from low to high, and ages ranged from 40-79.

We were keen to elicit feedback on each of the steps in the process as well as the whole.

Providing identification

None of the people that we spoke to felt that there was a problem with providing identification as part of making an LPA, in fact, they expected to do so, and often thought that there must be some form of identity checking already done as part of registering the LPA with the OPG.

Almost all of the people that we showed the prototype to felt that they would like to know upfront what documents and equipment they would need to complete this process, as once they had started, they wouldn’t want to have to break from the process to gather items, or because they didn’t have the correct items to proceed.

Prototype screens

Your details

The people we showed this prototype to were comfortable with the details we were asking for. They did however question why we weren’t asking for a middle name, as this would be an additional way to ensure that we were checking for the correct person.

They were split as to whether we should be asking for the address here. Some felt that as we would probably ask for an address later on, it wouldn’t be required here, others felt that comparing address to the electoral roll was an important step to proving identity.

We showed some users the prototype without a progress indicator on the page. These didn’t really have an idea of how long it might take them to get through the identity check. Those who saw the progress indicator felt that they had a good idea of what was expected of them, and generally guessed that it would take less time than those who didn’t see it.

How would you like to prove your identity?

The options given on this page are:

• passport

• driving Licence

• open banking

• DWP

• Post Office (in person)

The most commonly chosen option was passport or driving licence, people felt that they would have these to hand, and wouldn’t have to search for them.

The concept of open banking has proven unpopular with the majority of people that we’ve shown it to. Only one person voluntarily chose to follow that route through the prototype. When people were shown the open banking route, they were comforted by the fact that they didn’t have to share account numbers and sort codes, and that only a small amount of data was being shared. The person that chose that route voluntarily had seen this before from their credit card provider, and knew their bank login details without having to look them up, so felt this would be the easiest route for them.

The feedback around the DWP route was mixed. One person was confused as to why it’s only people in receipt of certain benefits or the state pension that could use this route.

No-one we spoke to would have wanted to go to a Post Office in person, they felt that this would be a lot of effort when they could do it online. One person commented that if they had to take their driving licence or passport, they would just do it online with those documents.

It is important to note that the people we spoke to were more likely to complete a process like this online, so weren’t an objective group in terms of this option.

What is your mobile number?

None of the people we spoke to had reservations about sharing their mobile number in order to receive a link to an app via text. All understood why they were being asked for their number. They would expect to receive the text within minutes.

Download our secure identity app

Only one of the people we spoke to was able to download the app.

One of them had an Honor phone that didn’t have enough storage available to download apps. One of them had a Doro phone, which isn’t compatible with the app we used. The rest had problems finding the app in the app store.

Given the age profile of an LPA donor, it is likely that this would be an issue for a large number of people.

Most of the people we spoke to liked the idea of using an app instead of having a username and password, but the digital wallet element of the app wasn’t understood by any of the people we spoke to.

Most didn’t understand why a donor would need an app for their LPA.

“I would swear, I would think, why would I want this on an app on my mobile phone, for something that is only going to come into play years ahead, by which time I will have a different phone, and the app will change. What would be the point? Am I going to be walking along the street and thinking, I’m going to make use of my LPA, I don’t think so. When I need to make use of the LPA, I’m going to be lying sick in bed, and I have my landline phone, and my computer and my paper documents, so why would I need an app”

Several did remark that they could understand why an attorney would like an LPA app rather than the paper version though.

Only two of the people we spoke to were familiar with QR codes, and had used them before. The rest of the people we spoke to had seen them before, but weren’t sure how to use them.

Confirm you’re a real person

Most of the people we spoke to understood what the aim of this was. One user was delighted that this option was offered instead of a CAPTCHA, which they felt was annoying, and too American, whereas another wondered why we wouldn’t just use CAPTCHA as people are very familiar with it.

One person didn’t understand what the function of this page was, saying:

“Of course I’m a real person, that’s so ridiculous…….. What else could I be? What other sorts of people are there, real or virtual, well I’ve never met a virtual person, I’m not sure what it is all about”

The process that the OPG would go through with the video after it was taken was unclear to the people we spoke to, they didn’t know how long we would keep it for, and wanted this information to be displayed on the page.

They liked that they would just be using a device with a webcam to take the video, and didn’t need to take it elsewhere and transfer it somehow, but did note that they had friends who wouldn’t be able to do so.

Take a photo of yourself

The people that we spoke to were relieved that they didn’t have to upload a passport photo of themselves, and would be doing it live in the process with a webcam.

They understood that the photo would be shown to the certificate provider, and thought that this was a sensible and reasonable idea.

They didn’t think that having a photo of the donor on the LPA was useful to show it to places like banks, as none of them thought an organisation like that would know what they looked like to compare.

Some of them felt that having photos of the attorneys on the LPA would be a useful safeguard against fraud.

Other feedback

The people we spoke to had feedback about a variety of issues related to the LPA, including digital signatures and witnessing. This feedback will be considered with the relevant topics as they arise.