New Data Bill proposed to 'unlock' data use in the public interest

Bill will 'unlock the power of data to grow the economy and improve people’s lives'

The government has proposed a new Data (Use and Access) Bill that, it claims, will “unlock the secure and effective use of data for the public interest”.

The wide-ranging Bill is intended to help slash bureaucracy, free-up time spent on paper chasing and make data more easily transferable across the NHS. In the process, 1.5 million hours of police time will be saved every year, and 140,000 hours of NHS staff time.

For the police, the new measures will remove manual logging requirements whenever personal data is accessed on a case. In the NHS, it will provide easier access to personal information, such as a patient’s pre-existing conditions, appointments, tests and their results. This NHS information will be accessible via common standards implemented to enable data sharing across different IT platforms, whether in GP surgeries, hospitals or ambulances.

Moreover, it will also provide online identity verification services, and electronic registration of births and deaths.

But, technology secretary Peter Kyle added, safeguards will be put in place to track and monitor how personal data is used.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting added: “I know people worry about Big Brother, which is why data will only be shared to the most relevant staff and anybody using data must comply with strict security protocols.”

The government claims the measures in the Bill will generate around £10 billion “towards the UK economy” over ten years.

It continued: “Delivering on a key government manifesto commitment, the Bill will create the right conditions to support the future of open banking and the growth of new smart data schemes, models which allow consumers and businesses who want to safely share information about them with regulated and authorised third parties, to generate personalised market comparisons and financial advice to cut costs.”

The Bill will also put the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) on a statutory footing, mandating that owners of underground infrastructure, such as water companies or telecoms operators, register their assets on the NUAR, which is intended to provide a complete map of underground pipes and cables.

Georgina Graham, a data and technology partner at law firm Osborne Clarke, broadly welcomed the Bill.

“This bill is, fundamentally, about making better use of data across so many sectors of the UK economy, be that energy, telecoms, infrastructure, health and social care or financial services.

“It will do that, for example, by: creating a framework for smart data schemes (such as Open Banking), which will then be introduced via secondary legislation across relevant sectors (such as energy or telecoms); by introducing a certification framework for digital identity verification systems; and, by specific targeted reforms to UK data protection laws.”

Much of what is in the Bill isn’t necessarily new, she added, with a significant proportion included within the previous government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (which was not passed pre-election), while the EU has adopted a similar data strategy.

However, while it bears similarities to the previous government’s Bill, wider proposed reforms have been ditched, she added.

“In particular, earlier proposals to remove (or modify) the requirement to keep records of processing, undertake data protection impact assessments and to have a data protection officer do not appear in the Data (Use and Access) Bill. Those changes might have had an impact on SMEs, but would not have made much (if any) difference to multinational companies operating outside the UK.

“The Data (Use and Access) Bill does, though, carry through some of the previously proposed changes to UK data protection laws, including removing some of the restrictions on automated decision making, which may make adoption of certain AI systems easier; providing additional clarity on what will constitute ‘strictly necessary’ cookies and other tracking technologies, potentially making the use of analytics cookies easier; and restructuring the Information Commissioner's Office.”