New data laws aim to ‘improve public services and boost economy by £10 billion’

Proposed new data laws will free up police and NHS staff time, boost the economy and make it easier to register births and deaths or start a new job, the Government has said.

If made law, the Data Use and Access Bill could help grow the economy by £10 billion, the Government has claimed, by helping to cut costs, save time and drive more data-sharing to help both businesses and consumers.

The Bill proposes removing manual logging requirements for police officers whenever they access personal data to work on a case, which the Government says will free up 1.5 million hours of police time and save more than £42 million in taxpayers’ money each year.

The legislation will also ensure that healthcare information – such as details on patient appointments, tests and pre-existing conditions – can be accessed in real time across the NHS, GP surgeries and ambulance services, no matter the IT system they are using.

It says the legislation will also lay the groundwork to expand the model of open banking to other sectors, creating new smart data schemes which will allow consumers and businesses to share personal data safely with third parties in order to receive personalised market comparisons or advice to help them save money.

The Government said it believes this would help foster tech innovation and boost competition, ultimately growing the economy by as much as £10 billion over 10 years.

In addition, the Bill proposes simplifying important administrative tasks such as renting a home, starting work or registering births and deaths by legislating on digital verification services, meaning many tasks can be moved away from being paper-based and in-person.

The Bill will offer certification to firms providing identification verification tools and which meet new Government standards to enable these new systems.

“It has the enormous potential to make our lives better, boosting our National Health Service, cutting costs when we shop and saving us valuable time.

“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 frontline workers, and relieve people from unnecessary admin so that they can get on with their lives.”

The Bill will also include provisions to create a researcher data access regime around online harms, meaning researchers will be supported in accessing data held by online platforms so that they can conduct more robust research into online safety trends.

It will also put the National Underground Asset Register on a statutory footing, meaning firms which own underground infrastructure such as water pipes or telecoms cables will be required to register their assets on the register and help create a complete map of pipes and cables to help cut accidents and reduce prolonged roadworks when holes are dug in the streets.

“This is an important piece of legislation which will allow my office to continue to operate as a trusted, fair and independent regulator and provide certainty for all organisations as they innovate and promote the UK economy.

“Our response to the Bill will be published in due course.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The NHS is broken, but imagine its enormous potential if each part of the system communicated properly with each other.

“That starts with sharing vital medical records between healthcare providers, because it shouldn’t be the patient’s responsibility to join the dots for their doctor.

“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.”