Government says new data bill will free up millions of hours of public sector time

The UK government is proposing new data laws it says could free up millions of hours of police and NHS time every year and boost the UK economy by £10 billion.

The Data Use and Access Bill is not dissimilar to its predecessor, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI), which failed to pass during the 'wash-up' process before the general election earlier this year.

Like the DPDI, it's aimed at cutting down on bureaucracy and making better use of data across public sector bodies.

"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 front-line workers, and relieve people from unnecessary admin so that they can get on with their lives," said technology secretary Peter Kyle.

Changes proposed by the government, such as removing manual logging requirements whenever accessing personal data to work on a case, could help save 1.5 million hours of police time a year, the government said.

Meanwhile, patients’ data will be made easily transferable across the NHS so that frontline staff can make better-informed decisions for patients. This, the government revealed, could save 140,000 hours of NHS staff time every year, speeding up care and improving patients’ health outcomes.

"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," said health and social care secretary Wes Streeting.

"This Bill and our Ten Year Health Plan will ensure important data flows safely and securely through the NHS, freeing up staff time and speeding up patient care."

To enable this data sharing across platforms, IT suppliers for the health and care sector will be required to make sure their systems meet common standards.

The bill also promises to simplify tasks such as renting a flat and starting work with online identity verification and electronic registration of births and deaths.

The legislation will cover digital verification services, allowing companies that provide tools for verifying identities to get certified against a standards framework from a new Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Following the proposals, the bill has been welcomed by the Data and Marketing Association (DMA), which noted it builds on principles that have had cross-party consensus for several years.

"We welcome the focus on economic growth and improved public services enabled by data sharing, which we believe will promote public and private sector collaboration and enable businesses to communicate with their customers more effectively," said CEO Chris Combemalee.

"Our members will welcome maintaining a high level of data protection and the current accountability framework. Getting the balance right is essential to building trust in both the public and private sectors, ensuring that people have confidence in the modern products and services that will improve their lives."