UK reforms data rules to improve public sector sharing
The UK government’s reforms to data rules have become law, with ministers saying that the changes will make life easier for British people through better joined up data use across the public sector.
The Data (Use and Access) Act is intended to “unleash the power of data to help working people save money and time”.
The law will allow public servants to more easily access data by cutting NHS and police bureaucracy, and turbocharging innovation in tech and science.
In particular, the act will mean that information can be shared more easily around public services. Healthcare information – like a patient’s pre-existing conditions, appointments and tests – can now be accessed in real time across all NHS trusts, GP surgeries and ambulance services, no matter what IT system they are using.
Police officers will also be more easily able to access data when working on a case by, for example, removing the need for police officers to manually log every time an officer needs to look up a suspect or person of interest on the police database.
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‘A game-changing moment’
The government said that enabling data sharing across platforms will save NHS staff 140,000 hours a year.
Health secretary Wes Streeting, said this represented “a game-changing moment for UK healthcare”.
He added: “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.”
Technology secretary Peter Kyle – who is spearheading the UK government’s digital services plan to ‘transform the relationship between citizen and state’ – said that 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”.
He added: “These new laws will finally unleash that power for hardworking people – putting cash back in pockets and boosting vital public services, all part of our Plan for Change.”
Read more: Privacy, security, trust, transparency: how to enable data-sharing in government
Making data sharing happen
Data sharing is a long-standing challenge in government. Global Government Forum’s Digital Leaders 2024 report, which examined how ready the UK is to realise the potential of artificial intelligence, highlighted this as one of the greatest threats to the government’s AI transformation.
The report called for action to mandate data sharing across departments to facilitate the seamless integration and functioning of AI technologies, and the government claimed that the new legislation will lead to the “secure and effective use of data for the public interest”.
In a recent Global Government Forum webinar, government data experts discussed the role, opportunities and challenges of using data to deliver its five missions: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, safer streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity, and building an NHS fit for the future.
The government has stressed the importance of a “digital revolution” to help create a more agile and effective state.
Read more: Foundations first: UK data leaders on delivering the government missions
However, a recent study by PA Consulting, in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, said permanent secretaries in the UK civil service should be given formal mandates to share data for the public good.
Read more: Formal data-sharing mandates should be introduced in UK public sector, suggests study
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