UK Government introduces new data bill in Parliament

The Data (Use and Access) Bill, for which the lead is provided by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, was introduced yesterday, 23 October, in the House of Lords. The Data Bill amends the UK GDPR and the 2018 Data Protection Act on certain aspects of individual rights, purpose limitation, scientific research and automated decision-making. But it does not propose changes to the accountability framework (for example the Data Protection Officer role, requirements for Data Protection Impact Assessments) that were put forward in the previous government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.

The Bill will legislate on digital verification services that will be delivered against the government’s trust framework of standards. It will also modernise the ICO’s structure and add to its enforcement powers. The ICO will be able to compel witnesses to answer questions with respect to any matter relevant to an investigation. The Information Commissioner’s Office is to become a body corporate and will be called the Information Commission, and it will be required to issue an Annual Report on its regulatory action.

The 250+ page Data Bill covers many new subjects of immediate interest to the private and public sectors.

The Bill will also enable NHS data sharing across platforms.

The ICO said in a statement: “We stand ready to support the Government's ambition to make the NHS fit for the future, including the move to a more digital approach… we expect data protection to be prioritised and built into all new initiatives from the start. We will be monitoring the proposals closely..”

See Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL]

PL&B is organising an in-person event in London to hear about the details of this Bill.