British people will benefit from new laws which will make their
day-to-day lives easier – from slashing grocery bills and cutting
traffic jams to speeding up NHS diagnoses – as the government
delivers on manifesto commitments.
It comes as the Data (Use and Access) Act has today (19th June)
received Royal Assent, unleashing the power of data into the
British society and economy.
The new data regime is set to pump £10 billion into the British
economy over the next decade – by cutting NHS and police
bureaucracy, speeding up roadworks, and turbocharging innovation
in tech and science.
Measures in the Act will ensure healthcare information – like a
patient's pre-existing conditions, appointments and tests – can
easily be accessed in real time across all NHS trusts, GP
surgeries and ambulance services, no matter what IT system they
are using. Enabling data sharing across platforms will save NHS
staff 140,000 hours a year in admin, giving them more time to
care for patients and make better informed decisions for them
more quickly – speeding up diagnoses and treatments for the
British people.
Delivering on a manifesto commitment, the Act boosts the
development of technology such as price comparison apps that can
provide hyper personalised experiences to people so they can save
money and time with bills and food shops. The new laws will
broaden the access that third parties, like energy suppliers,
have to consumer data.
For example, consumers will be able to share data on their energy
usage which will help create more accurate price comparisons,
informing what utility provider best suits their needs. This
measure will give consumers the ability to compare utility
prices, find better deals, and reduce their energy use, as well
as foster tech innovation and boost competition, which will
ultimately grow the UK economy.
Technology Secretary said:
For too long, previous governments have been sitting on a
goldmine of data, wasting a powerful resource which can be used
to help families juggle food costs, slash tedious life admin, and
make our NHS and police work smarter.
These new laws will finally unleash that power for hardworking
people – putting cash back in pockets and boosting vital public
services, all part of our Plan for Change.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, , said:
This is a game-changing moment for UK healthcare.
No longer will patients be left waiting needlessly for treatment
as NHS staff battle “computer says no” bureaucracy.
We're making it easier for GPs, nurses, and paramedics to access
the information they need, when they need it, safely, securely
and at speed.
Only by challenging the status quo and cutting through red tape
can we truly deliver our Plan for Change and an NHS Fit for the
Future.
Another key manifesto commitment the Act will deliver on is
legislation to help bereaved parents get the answers they deserve
when social media activity is linked to the death of their child.
The new laws will establish a data preservation process that will
require Ofcom, when notified by a coroner, to issue a data
preservation notice to social media companies supporting their
investigations into the death.
The data regime will also ease the frustrations of traffic by
creating a National Underground Asset Register, a map of the
country's underground pipes and cables, which will allow
construction workers to instantly see their exact location –
information which currently takes 6 days to access. Slashing
the average data-sharing process to 6 seconds, workers in the
field will have quick access to a rich view of buried assets,
helping them make more informed decisions on how to carry out
works safely and efficiently – speeding up roadworks and closures
and reducing delays for those on the road.
By legislating on digital verification services and introducing
trusted digital verification tools, people will be able to prove
their identity online more easily. This will simplify important
tasks such as renting a flat and starting work. The measures will
give companies who provide tools for verifying identities the
ability to get certified against the government's stringent trust
framework of standards, and receive a ‘trust mark' to use as a
result. As well as increasing trust in the market, these
efficiency gains will boost the UK economy by £4.3 billion over
the next decade.
Notes to editors
Further details on the
specific measures can be found here.
Today we also announce the launch of a recruitment campaign for 7
Non-Executive members to the board of the new Information
Commission, which will be established by the Data (Use and
Access) Act 2025 to replace the Information Commissioner's Office
(ICO) as
the UK's data regulator. This is an important step in modernising
the ICO
and ensuring that the regulator has a diversity of skills,
experience and perspectives at the top of the organisation. The
closing date for applications is Friday 1 August 2025. We
encourage applications from talented individuals from all
backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom.
