Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL]

Official Summary

A bill to make provision about access to customer data and business data; to make provision about services consisting of the use of information to ascertain and verify facts about individuals; to make provision about the recording and sharing, and keeping of registers, of information relating to apparatus in streets; to make provision about the keeping and maintenance of registers of births and deaths; to make provision for the regulation of the processing of information relating to identified or identifiable living individuals; to make provision about privacy and electronic communications; to establish the Information Commission; to make provision about information standards for health and social care; to make provision about the grant of smart meter communication licences; to make provision about the disclosure of information to improve public service delivery; to make provision about the retention of information by providers of internet services in connection with investigations into child deaths; to make provision about providing information for purposes related to the carrying out of independent research into online safety matters; to make provision about the retention of biometric data; to make provision about services for the provision of electronic signatures, electronic seals and other trust services; to make provision about the creation and solicitation of purported intimate images and for connected purposes.

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Overview

The Data (Use and Access) Bill [HL] aims to improve access to data for customers and businesses, regulate digital verification services, establish a national underground asset register, modernize birth and death registers, enhance data protection and privacy regulations, and create the Information Commission. It also includes provisions related to smart meters, online safety research, biometric data retention, and the creation of intimate images.

Description

The bill is divided into several parts. Part 1 focuses on customer and business data, granting the Secretary of State and Treasury powers to regulate access to this data, including establishing interface bodies to facilitate data sharing. Part 2 creates a framework for digital verification services, including a register of providers, a trust framework, and a trust mark. Part 3 establishes a National Underground Asset Register for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Part 4 modernizes the process of keeping birth and death registers. Part 5 extensively amends data protection and privacy laws, clarifying definitions, setting new time limits for responses to data subject requests, and introducing safeguards for automated decision-making. This part also introduces a new Information Commission to replace the Information Commissioner. Part 7 contains various provisions on data use and access across different sectors, including health and social care, smart meters, online safety research, biometric data, and trust services. It also creates new offences related to the creation and sharing of purported intimate images.

Government Spending

The bill's impact on government spending is not explicitly stated, but it will likely involve costs associated with the establishment and operation of the Information Commission, the National Underground Asset Register, and other regulatory functions. It also allows for levies and fees to be imposed on businesses to offset some of these costs, and includes provisions for financial assistance to certain groups to aid compliance. Precise figures are unavailable from the provided text.

Groups Affected

Customers: Increased access to their own data, potentially greater control over its use.
Businesses (Traders): New obligations to provide and manage data, potential costs associated with compliance and levies.
Digital Verification Service Providers: Subject to new regulations, registration requirements, and potential penalties for non-compliance.
Undertakers (Utilities): Obligations to contribute to and interact with the National Underground Asset Register.
Local Authorities: Responsibilities for providing equipment and facilities for birth and death registration.
Data Controllers and Processors: Significant changes to data protection obligations, including new rules regarding automated decision-making and the processing of special categories of data. Increased accountability and potential penalties for non-compliance.
The Information Commissioner: Their role and powers are transferred to the new Information Commission.
Public Authorities: New responsibilities related to data sharing and compliance with the new regulations.
Researchers: Changes affecting access to data for research purposes.
Individuals: Enhanced data protection rights, increased protection against misuse of intimate images.

Full Text

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