Use of insufficiently-secure electronic signatures on documents was one of the reasons a further education college had to repay thousands of pounds of government funding.
It’s a story that highlights the risks to organisations using electronic signatures without robust security and compliance measures in place.
The issue boils down to whether an electronic signature is ‘refutable’. Or put more simply – can the signature be used to prove who signed the document, and when?
What happened?
A college of further education was told to repay nearly £188,000 after an audit revealed invalid or inaccurate evidence had been used to secure funding for apprenticeship training between 2020 and 2022.
Among the issues uncovered during the audit was that the college failed to provide evidence that signatures used on electronic documents were ‘non-refutable’.
Essentially this meant that signatures on documents could be replaced easily, and therefore did not provide convincing evidence that they were genuine.
Understanding electronic signatures
To understand how to remain compliant, first you need to understand electronic signatures.
Any kind of signature that can be made online or with an electronic device is an ‘electronic signature’.
This can range from the most basic way of making an electronic signature (like inserting a scanned version of a pen-and-ink signature, or drawing a signature on a document using a mouse), to more secure electronic signatures containing advanced security features.
These more sophisticated signatures are known as ‘digital signatures’. They come with an encrypted digital certificate providing secure, tamper-proof evidence of who signed, and how.
Using digital signatures provides proof that a document hasn’t been altered, and verifies the identities of signatories.
What do the funding rules for 2025/26 say?
Department for Education rules for 2025/26 are explicit that any electronic signatures used to secure apprenticeship funding must be non-refutable.
The rules say:
- Where an electronic or digital signature is being held, from any party for any reason, providers must ensure it is non-refutable. Systems and processes must be in place to assure to us that the original signature has not been altered. Where any document needs to be renewed and a new signature taken, it must be clear from when the new document takes effect and both must be held.
- Both electronic and digital signatures are acceptable, we do not specify which must be used, only that a secure process to obtain and store signatures is followed.
This means colleges have a choice to make about how they approach the electronic signing of apprenticeship documentation.
One route may be to stick with more basic forms of electronic signature. This is arguably a more risky approach due to the higher chance of human error or omission leading to evidence not being recorded.
The second, safer approach is to incorporate secure digital signatures into the process.
How can Videosign help?
Using Videosign’s software means users can be confident that signatures on their documents are as non-refutable as they come.
We use ‘eIDAS qualified’ digital signatures that comply with the highest European safety security standards.
Also adopted into UK law, eIDAS sets the security standard for electronic signatures across the EU.
Users can be sent documents to sign directly, or additional safety features like recording of video evidence and advanced identity verification tools can be used to provide extra layers of assurance.
Signed documents are securely stored and accessible for future reference and audit.
It’s a combination of features that mean Videosign is the perfect partner for ensuring non-refutable digital signatures are part of education providers’ governance arrangements.
Want to know more? Get in touch with the Videosign team today to find out how digital signatures can make your business more secure and legally compliant.
