United Kingdom’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has announced a new National Data Strategy Forum with following strategies:
- New Forum launched to help deliver UK’s National Data Strategy and make sure country harnesses the huge power of data
- Data will play key role in levelling up opportunities and prosperity in UK regions by driving innovation and growth
- Firms backed to seize data opportunities, as new guidance on data sharing enacted[1]
The new Forum has been announced as a response of UK government to a consultation on the strategy. The strategy lays out five priority ‘missions’ to be taken to capitalise on the opportunities data offers:
- Unlocking the value of data across the economy
- Securing a pro-growth and trusted data regime
- Transforming government’s use of data to drive efficiency and improve public services
- Ensuring the security and resilience of the infrastructure on which data relies
- Championing the international flow of data
A new Central Digital and Data Office has been created to drive forward digital, data and technology transformation across government. The UK Government has laid down the Data Sharing Code of Practice, developed by Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO’s Code) before Parliament on 18 May 2021. It will lay before Parliament for 40 sitting days before coming into force.
The new ICO code sets out best practice for firms when considering sharing data such as: Assessing the risks using a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA); Following good practice to have a data sharing agreement in place; Following the key principles in data protection legislation; Being aware that the accountability principle means that you are responsible for your compliance, and you must be able to demonstrate that compliance; Sharing personal data fairly and transparently; Identifying at least one lawful basis for sharing data before you start any sharing; Processing personal data securely, with appropriate organisational and technical measures in place.[2]
*Tanvi Singh, Editorial Assistant has put this story together.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-data-strategy-forum-launched-to-help-uk-become-the-worlds-number-one-data-destination
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-data-strategy-forum-launched-to-help-uk-become-the-worlds-number-one-data-destination
