The Data (Use and Access) Act has come into force, creating a new data regime aimed at supercharging government efficiency. New practices will save £10 billion over the next decade.
The act is designed to improve data sharing across multiple public bodies, including:
- Enabling NHS data sharing across trusts, GPs, and emergency services regardless of the IT system they are using, saving 140,000 hours per year on administration
- Boosting third party access to consumer's energy data, facilitating the development of a more accurate energy price comparison app to reduce citizen's bills
- Creating a National Underground Asset Register to map below ground pipes and cabling allowing construction workers to find their exact location in six seconds, instead of six days
- Legislating on planned future digital verification services which will allow people to more easily identify themselves online simplifying processes like starting a new job
- Ensuring bereaved parents gain access to their children's digital data in cases where social media activity is linked to their deaths by establishing a data preservation process. Ofcom will be required to serve a notice to social media companies, compelling them to hold and share data to support investigations into children's deaths
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said that "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."
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said: "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."
Simultaneously, a recruitment campaign has been opened to find non-executive board members for a new Information Commission, established by this act. This will replace the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and is intended to modernise and diversify the regulator.
Lucy Baldwin
