The Queen’s Speech – Data Reform Bill

On 10 May 2022, the Prince of Wales delivered the Queen’s Speech to Parliament. The speech referred to 38 separate Bills intended to be passed over the coming year, one of these being the Data Reform Bill.

This comes about following the publishing of the consultation by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport in September 2021. From the limited information we have so far, the Data Reform Bill seems to reflect the themes that were set out in the consultation.

Why is change needed?

The current UK data protection regime is made up of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). Both pieces of legislation have been inherited from the EU and whilst they do aim to protect the individual’s data, they…

Following Brexit, we now have an opportunity to reform the current data protection regime in the UK in an attempt to reduce the burden on businesses whilst maintaining the standard of protection of personal data. The briefing notes confirm that once implemented, the Data Reform Bill will create a…

How will the Data Reform Bill achieve its aims?

The Bill seeks to implement a more flexible regime that is focused on the outcome rather than a box-ticking exercise with a view to lessening the burden on businesses of all sizes. It is unclear at present how specifically the Bill is proposing to create a more flexible regime.

We do however know that as part of the Bill, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), who is the current governing body of the data regime, will be given more power to take stronger action against any organisations that are found to be in breach of the data rules. With this increased power, the ICO will need to be accountable to both the public and parliament.

What are the benefits of the Data Reform Bill?

If implemented, the Bill aims to increase the efficiency of UK businesses by reducing the burdens they face under the current data protection framework. An analysis conducted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport confirms that the proposed reforms will save businesses £1 billion over the span of 10 years.

It will also ensure that appropriate action can be taken against organisations who breach data rights and arguably therefore will better protect personal data.

Comment

Whilst little is known about the Data Reform Bill at present (save for the information contained in the speech itself and the accompanying briefing note), the message from the proposed reform is clear, more flexibility is needed.