New data bill to loosen red tape for businesses and NHS

The UK government has introduced a new data bill to parliament to cut red tape for businesses and public service organisations like the NHS, which it claims could add £10bn to the economy over the next decade.

The ‘Data Use and Access’ bill plans to make data sharing easier, reducing admin headaches for companies. For example, it will expand open banking and smart data schemes that allow businesses and consumers to securely share their data with authorised third parties.

In the last financial year, 82 open banking firms have raised more than £2bn in private funding and added over 4,800 jobs.

Technology secretary Peter Kyle said: “Data is the DNA of modern life and quietly drives every aspect of our society and economy without us even noticing.

“With laws that help us to use data securely and effectively, this Bill will help us boost the UK’s economy, free up vital time for our front-line workers, and relieve people from unnecessary admin so that they can get on with their lives,” he explained.

New rules on digital verification services will allow businesses to get certified under a government trust framework, earning a new ‘trust mark’ to show they meet the new standards. The government said this could add £4.3bn to the economy through efficiency gains across 10 years.

In addition to businesses, public services are also poised to benefit. In the NHS, the bill will require health IT systems to meet higher standards that will give medics faster access to patient records.

Police officers will be able to ditch repetitive logging of personal data, potentially saving them up to 1.5m hours a year and taxpayers £42.8m.

Commenting on the new bill, Neil Ross, associate director for policy at techUK, said it marks the start of a “welcome effort” from the government to reform data protection laws.

He said: “These legislative changes strike the right balance between maintaining the UK’s existing high data protection standards and driving forward essential reform.

“However,” Ross warned, “they must be coupled with the cultural and organisational mindset shift required to seize the full potential advantages of new data-driven technologies.”