Government unveils data reform bill during Queen’s Speech to deliver ‘Brexit dividend’ | Science & Technology News

Sky News says the government will unveil a new data reform bill during the Queen’s Speech that would allow the UK to go against EU privacy laws.

Industry representatives told Sky News they believe the UK could benefit from the reforms, but there are concerns that if done incorrectly they will ultimately cost the economy more than what they bring.

It comes as the Conservative Party wants to claim it has distributed a “Brexit dividend” before the next general election, coupled with the urgent need to increase GDP to solve economic problems.

This is true when reforms are first planned later COVID-19 recession, but both needs are seen as even more important now in anticipation of the Bank of England recession and inflation surged to 10.25% later this year.

There are concerns that if the reforms are not substantive enough they will not create much impetus for business, while if the UK deviates too much from EU standards it could lose its “full status”. enough data”, meaning businesses will have to be more compliant. cost of receiving data from the block.

What is happening and when?

The new bill will be announced during the Queen’s Speech next week, on Tuesday 10 May.

Immediately after the keynote, within weeks Sky News understands, the government will publish its response to the consultation with business and civil society on data protection reforms.

Westminster sources have told Sky News the draft legislation, which is part of this broader package of data protection reforms, will be published in the summer.

The broader package includes the removal of cookie consent banners, although they are not actually covered by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) but the UK Electronic Communications and Privacy Regulation .

The bill’s passage through parliament could be marked by debates over whether it risks affecting the UK’s data adequacy status.

Anticipating the risk of another congressional battle, Number 10 promised by the end of January a The Brexit Freedom Bill At its core it would allow the government to change major legislation – such as the UK’s GDPR – without having to win parliamentary approval. However, this bill did not materialize.

What do businesses want?

Responding to the government consultation, industry body techUK hailed “maintaining the fundamentals of GDPR”, which means the UK can make practical changes to the regulation. while not jeopardizing data flows between the UK and the EU.

Neil Ross, deputy director of policy at techUK, said: “Developing a data governance system that is clearer, more reliable and enables innovation is one of Brexit’s most obvious opportunities. .”

Mr Ross warned of the need to “find the right balance between upholding the rights of citizens, allowing data to be reused for research and innovation, and supporting global data flows”. bridge”.

“However, the government will need to be bold and embrace these opportunities, or risk only half-heartedly achieving changes and creating more compliance for UK businesses without reaping the benefits.” any benefit to increased UK R&D and innovation.”

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Almost all of the public responses from industry and civil society to the government consultation underscore the importance of the UK maintaining its commensurate status with the EU.

However, there have been calls – particularly from Brexiteers in the Conservative Party – for the UK to scrap admissibility altogether and instead prioritize data trading with other countries it doesn’t know. is building trade deals, including Japan and Singapore.

These calls were heightened in a report by the Task Force on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform – led by Sir Iain Duncan Smith – which focuses “on areas where change could be seen.” happen quickly and have an economic impact over the next few years.”

Loss of adequacy could cost UK business £1.6 billion

A report by the New Economics Foundation offers what it says is a conservative estimate that if the UK loses its full state it will increase the cost of doing business by at least £1.6 billion over the next 10 years.

“And that’s just rising compliance costs, we specifically excluded in our estimates the broader effects around trade shifts… UK businesses are starting to lose customers. in the EU,” report author Duncan McCann explained to Sky News.

“We had a meeting with the chief economist at DCMS afterwards [report was published]”He added.” She said she recognized the figures and they were very close to DCMS internal estimates, which she apparently never shared with us. “

A DCMS spokesman did not object to this when it was raised by Sky News.

Mr McCann added: “That means, by my calculations, there is no dividend if we lose our full state of data.

“If we can reform the laws in there and still keep it satisfactory, there’s potential for dividends. Even so, I think back to a lot of the problems, a lot of the benefits that the government offers. just reduce compliance costs.

“The idea that doing so will unleash some kind of economic miracle – that the UK will suddenly become an innovation hub – seems unlikely.

“Small adjustments to existing GDPR and data protection regimes are unlikely to be welcome in the sort of unregulated market that some say could benefit AI and data sets. whether big.”

A DCMS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.