Chris Bryant MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Yes, but security is at the heart of the whole NUAR platform and remains an absolute priority for us. It feels to me that the provision introduced in the Lords would undermine rather than add to the security of the NUAR. As a digital service in practice, the Government intend to work closely with persons who could access information from the NUAR and ensure that information is protected, but, as I say, we are still pushing our amendment to remove the subsection.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  I will have to write to the hon. Member on whether we will consult on those measures specifically. They are certainly being considered by us, but that is a different matter. Question put and agreed to. Clause 60 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 61 Form in which registers of births and deaths are to be kept Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  I will speak to clauses 61 to 65 and to schedule 3. As somebody who has written history books, I have always found it fascinating that it has taken us a very long time to update the system of registration of births and deaths in the United Kingdom. It was only in 1837 that mandatory, statutory provision for the registration of births, marriages and deaths was introduced in England. I was researching a book recently and I had to try to find a man called John Smith who was born in roughly 1800, which made for a difficult process. I am also conscious that, with the way the register is kept these days, it is phenomenally difficult to try to find a marriage, birth or death online. We make it very difficult for people to register, so we are hopeful that the measure will make things easier. The current system of registering births and deaths is outdated, as I said, and is based on paper processes from the 19th century.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  I should correct something I said earlier. I was getting my undertakers and contractors mixed up—I think too much vicarly talk had passed. On clause 56, I said that local authorities will have to pay only if they are a contractor, which is wrong. Undertakers will pay for the service, not contractors, but if a local authority is an undertaker, it will need to pay. I am sure every other member of the Committee noted that I had made that mistake.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  We are indeed, but it is very similar here. I know we do not often individually come up against birth and death registrations many times in our lives, but when we do, we want it to be as simple a process as it possibly can be. There are often very difficult emotional moments for people. My father died in October last year and the process of dealing with probate, guardianships, banks and so on is a version of hell that we really need to rectify. Some of this should be able to be assisted by digital verification services, and some should be able to be assisted by the clauses we put in the Bill. My hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West is absolutely right about improving accuracy. People’s handwriting is not always legible—that includes some people sitting to my left. It is simply a fact that some people’s handwriting means that it is quite difficult to tell sometimes what has been written on death certificates and birth certificates, so greater accuracy will help considerably. On the matters raised by the hon. Member for North Norfolk, I think that this is the second or perhaps third letter that I will have to write. I do not know the precise details about the question that he asked, which is perfectly legitimate, so I will write to him. My hon. Friend the Member for Smethwick made the right point. It would be phenomenally useful to have more timely registration and be able to have more coherent data springing from digital registration. That is one benefit that we think will accrue from this legislation. Without further ado, I beg to move that the clauses stand part of the Bill. Question put and agreed to. Clause 61 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 62 to 65 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule 3 agreed to. Ordered , That the Order of the Committee of this day be amended as follows— (1) delete paragraph 1(b).—( Kate Dearden .) Ordered , That further consideration be now adjourned. —( Kate Dearden .)

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move amendment 12, clause 56, page 54, line 1, leave out lines 1 to 3. This amendment removes a subsection which was inserted at Report stage in the Lords. First, we should obviously celebrate the fact that you are in the Chair, Ms Hobhouse. I think this is the first time you have chaired a Bill Committee, so we will try to misbehave and see how much we can get away with. Chairing is sometimes a mission impossible, but since Tom Cruise has invested so much in the UK, I am sure you are prepared to accept that mission. We are now considering Government amendment 12, but it might be more convenient if I speak first to clause 56, which it amends, and then to clause 57 and schedule 1 stand part. Clause 56 amends the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 by inserting new sections 106A to 106J. It requires the Secretary of State to keep a register of information relating to apparatus in streets in England and Wales, referred to as the national underground asset register—I am tempted to talk about the Wombles, but I am not going to. The clause establishes a requirement for undertakers—as a former vicar, and because we later come to the register of births and deaths, I thought when I first read that in my notes that it meant undertakers who put coffins underground, but it does not; it means people who undertake undertakings. The clause establishes a requirement for undertakers who own apparatus in the street to share information with the national underground asset register. It also allows the Secretary of State to specify who can access this information and how, as well as establishing a charging scheme with associated enforcement mechanisms, which are detailed in schedule 1. Provision is also made to allow specific functions of the Secretary of State to be exercised by third parties. Those provisions will be detailed through secondary legislation, and the Secretary of State is required to consult the Welsh Ministers before making regulations under the clause. The clause will allow the national underground asset register to operate as a statutory register, delivering estimated benefits in excess of £400 million per year through increased efficiency, reduced asset strikes and reduced disruption for the public and businesses. That is critical to kick-starting economic growth, and it might also be critical to establishing people’s love of the streets in which they live, and their preparedness to see them dug up occasionally, rather than endlessly and repeatedly. Clause 57 makes amendments to sections 79 and 80 of the 1991 Act. The existing section 79 requires undertakers to record the location of their in-street apparatus and to share that information with those executing street works. The amendments in the clause require undertakers to input that and any other information, as prescribed, into the NUAR. The existing, but not yet commenced, section 80 of the 1991 Act imposes a duty on those executing works in a street who find that information about apparatus is missing or incorrect to inform the owner of the apparatus or the relevant street authority. The new section 80 updates that to require data to be shared with the NUAR where the relevant asset owner cannot be identified. The current regulation-making powers conferred on the Welsh Ministers under section 79, and those inserted by clause 57, are concurrently exercisable by the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers in relation to apparatus in Wales. The Secretary of State is required to consult the Welsh Ministers before making regulations under sections 79 and 80. I will say a bit more about that in a moment. Finally, if an undertaker does not pay their NUAR service fee or does not provide information to the Secretary of State in relation to the fees as prescribed through regulations, schedule 1 allows the Secretary of State to enforce these requirements through the imposition of monetary penalties. It also includes a provision for undertakers to appeal to a first-tier tribunal. The schedule is critical to ensure that undertakers who stand to benefit most pay for the NUAR service. The amount of the service fee and the level of fine will be specified in secondary legislation. The schedule ensures the long-term financial sustainability of the NUAR, safeguarding the expected benefits of the service and helping to progress our mission to grow the economy. Government amendment 12 removes new section 106C(3), inserted into clause 56 on Report in the Lords. That subsection creates a duty for the Secretary of State to provide guidance to relevant stakeholders on cyber-security measures before they may receive information from the NUAR. The NUAR hosts extremely sensitive data and is therefore supported by a suite of sophisticated security measures developed in partnership with the security services and owners of underground apparatus, which ensures that access given to data is proportionate. The amendment proposed by the Lords could expose detailed cyber-security arrangements that are not public knowledge. It could also curtail the Government’s ability to adapt security measures where needed, with support from security stakeholders, to accommodate changing circumstances. As such, we do not consider subsection (3) as drafted to be suitable, and we have consequently tabled Government amendment 12.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  We do not think it necessary for the provision to be in the Bill at all, which is why we want to take it out. If others want to attempt a different, less ambiguous language, they can do so on Report. I think that everyone accepts that the language is ambiguous when it comes to what is meant and what the Government would be required to provide. What would a court of law determine about whether adequate cyber-security guidance had been provided to relevant stakeholders and who would be a relevant stakeholder? All that is yet more reason why we are unhappy about the subsection remaining in the Bill. That is why we propose that it be removed.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  The purpose of the clause is to allow the Government to provide financial assistance where it is appropriate to do so. Although the Government expect schemes to be self-financing, as I have referred to, it is important to have statutory spending authority as a backstop where needed, and that is precisely what clause 13 provides. Question put and agreed to. C lause 1 3 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 14 The FCA and financial services interfaces

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  We are already committed to a strategy; I am not sure whether we need a road map for the strategy, and I would prefer us not to have such a thing in the Bill. It would also be slightly limiting, as the new clause effectively gives a list of priority areas. We want to explore quite a lot of other sectors; for instance, we might make a radical difference to the gig economy if we were to look at that sector. The hon. Lady made a good point about telecoms, although it might be specifically about smart meters. If we could turn a smart meter into an actually smart meter, which would require some telecoms work, smart data might be able to deliver cheaper bills for people. Notwithstanding the fact that I like the sentiment behind the new clause, I would resist it, so I hope the hon. Lady will not push it to a Division. Question put and agreed to. Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 Power to make provision in connection with customer data Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I note the comments from the shadow Minister, and I am grateful for them. There is a fundamental flaw in the argument from the hon. Member for North Norfolk that this new clause was tabled in the House of Lords, because what he means is that it was lost in the House of Lords—the House of Lords did not bring it to us. There is a second flaw in the argument, which is that it seems to presume that people will be required to use a digital verification service. That is not true. People will be able to use non-digital systems if they want to in every circumstance. That is an essential part of being able to take forward digital verification services. It may be that a growing number of people begin to find them more useful, reliable and trustworthy than carrying around a set of papers. I am sure that many of us have gone through the tedious process of renting a car—having to turn up with copies of the previous three months of bills sent to your house, and all that. They have to be printed out, of course, and not provided in digital form, and so on. In the end, therefore, this measure will be transformational for the vast majority of people, but that does not mean that we should exclude people. Where the hon. Member for North Norfolk is absolutely right is that there are many different patterns of digital exclusion. One, which I am very conscious of from my own constituency in south Wales, is physical digital exclusion. Many people in the south Wales valleys simply do not have the physical digital connections, a mobile phone or whatever it may be, to be able to transact their business. The second is the simple issue of poverty. Social tariffs do not even touch the edge for lots of families, because it is yet another bill. Even another £10 or £15 bill a month is one that has to compete with whether they have fresh food on the table for the kids. Another level where people might be excluded relates to age, at the top end and at the bottom end. The hon. Member mentioned nonagenarians, but he could go down to 60-year-olds and find people who simply do not want to use open banking or any kind of digital system, do not have a smartphone and have absolutely no intention of getting one, or, for that matter, do not have any kind of broadband connection to their home. I understand that fully, and that is why the Bill is written as it is, so that it is permissive and not mandatory. That is an important reason why—although I have listened to the arguments that the hon. Member for North Norfolk has repeated from Big Brother Watch—I am determined to do everything we possibly can to tackle each and every one of the issues of digital exclusion. I have not even referred to skills—people might have some form of disability, might have simply never acquired or wanted to acquire digital skills, or might find using a screen particularly difficult for whatever set of reasons. We want to tackle every single form of digital exclusion, but I do not think that this is the place to do so. We will not be able to tackle digital exclusion by putting an additional measure in the Bill, and that is why, if the hon. Member wants to push this to a vote, I will still resist his new clause. I commend the clause as drafted to the Committee.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  The clause will ensure that public authorities given powers under part 1 are not liable in damages for their acts or omissions in exercising their functions. That mirrors the exemption from liability for the Financial Conduct Authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and allows public authorities to carry out their functions effectively. However, regulations cannot remove liability for things done in bad faith or which are unlawful under the Human Rights Act 1998. Question put and agreed to. Clause 18 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 19 Duty to review regulations Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I think that I will have to write to the hon. Gentleman. We have agreed the amendment, so that is slightly rehashing the debate. I am happy to write to him and he will have that before we come back for Thursday’s Committee sitting. Question put and agreed to. Clause 45, as amended, accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 46 Information disclosed by the Revenue and Customs Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 40 requires the Secretary of State to remove a digital verification service provider from the digital verification service register in the following circumstances: when that provider asks to be removed; if it stops providing all services for which it is registered; or if it no longer holds a certificate for at least one of these services. This duty ensures that the Secretary of State acts to uphold the digital verification service register in these circumstances to uphold trust and confidence in it. Clause 41 allows the Secretary of State to remove a digital verification service provider from the digital verification service register if it is not compliant with the trust framework or a supplementary code; if it fails to provide information in response to a clause 51 written notice; or if removal is necessary in the interests of national security. Before removal, the Secretary of State must provide written notice informing the provider of reasons for removal and the opportunity to make representations. Reasons need not be given where this would be contrary to national security interests. These powers will help ensure that the register lists only certified services and that the Secretary of State can act to remove services where necessary, providing confidence in its accuracy. Clause 42 requires the Secretary of State to remove a service from the digital verification service register if the digital verification service provider requests removal; if it ceases to provide one or more of those services, but not all of them; or if it no longer holds a certificate for all those services. Similar to clause 41, these duties provide confidence to people and businesses that the digital verification service register can be trusted as an accurate source of information. Whereas clauses 40 and 41 cover removal of a digital verification service provider as a whole, the clause 42 duty enables the Secretary of State to remove one or more services, should a digital verification service provider have more than one service registered and one or more, but not all, those services no longer meet the digital verification service register’s conditions. Clause 43 requires the Secretary of State to remove a supplementary note from the digital verification service register if the digital verification service provider requests its removal; if it ceases to provide all the services to which the note relates; if it no longer holds a certificate for at least one of those services; or if the supplementary code to which the note relates has been withdrawn. This is a technical requirement to ensure that changes in certification and provision of multiple services in accordance with supplementary codes are accurately reflected for digital verification service providers, upholding confidence that the digital verification service register can be trusted as an accurate source of information.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  It might more sense, in explaining the amendment, if I speak about the clause first, even though we would normally take the amendment first. The clause provides safeguards on the use of financial penalties. Except where clause 16 provides otherwise for the Financial Conduct Authority, the amount of the penalty must be specified in, or determined in accordance with, the regulations. If the regulations allow an enforcer any discretion in that determination, the enforcer must publish, and have regard to, guidance. Other safeguards include an opportunity for representations before penalties are imposed, and rights of appeal to a court or tribunal. Regulations may provide for increase of the penalty in the case of late payment. Government amendment 6, which is minor and technical for some of the same reasons I adverted to earlier, enables regulations to make provision about what is to be done with any amounts that are paid as part of clause 10. That is consistent with provisions on fee and levy receipts in clauses 11 and 12. This is another bit of tidying up of the previous version of the Bill. Amendment 6 agreed to. Clause 10, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 11 Fees Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move amendment 1, in clause 8, page 12, line 18, leave out “imposed by a decision-maker” and insert “(referred to in sections 3(2) and 5(3))”. This amendment amends a reference to conditions for authorisation or approval to receive customer data or business data so as to reflect the fact that conditions will not necessarily be imposed by decision-makers.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am sure Members were wondering when we were going to get to a code of practice, and this is the clause that introduces it. Clause 49 requires the Secretary of State to prepare and publish a code of practice for the disclosure of information under the information gateway created in clause 45. The code of practice will provide guidance and best practice for such disclosure, including what information should be shared, who it should be shared with and how to share it securely. In preparing and revising the code, the Secretary of State must consult with the Information Commissioner, devolved Governments and other appropriate persons. The code will be laid before Parliament before it is finalised. The first version of the code will be subject to the affirmative procedure and subsequent versions to the negative procedure, allowing proper parliamentary scrutiny.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Now we are on a winning streak. Clause 2 provides the principal authority for the relevant Secretary of State or the Treasury to establish smart data schemes in relation to customer data. The Government envisage that most smart data schemes will involve providing access to customer data. Clause 3 provides a non-exhaustive list of supplementary provisions that may be contained in regulations relating to customer data under clause 2. These include important matters such as requirements for data holders and/or third-party recipients to use specified facilities or services to ensure that smart data schemes can run effectively. Question put and agreed to. Clause 2 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 4 Power to make provision in connection with business data Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  To quote Richard II, methinks I am a prophet new inspired. Yes, this is all based on a consultation with the FCA. The FCA is content with us proceeding in this direction. I hope that, on that basis, the shadow Minister—I am trying to differentiate between his not opposing and supporting, but I think on the whole in Parliament, if you are not against us, you are for us. I think in this measure he is for us.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move amendment 7, in clause 14, page 19, line 3, at end insert— “(ba) requiring section 2(4) actors described in the regulations to use a prescribed interface, comply with prescribed interface standards or participate in prescribed interface arrangements when taking, facilitating or doing other things in connection with relevant financial services action;”. This amendment provides that the Treasury’s powers to confer rule-making powers on the Financial Conduct Authority in connection with the use of interfaces include powers relating to the use of interfaces when taking action described in clause 2(4) of the Bill (persons authorised to receive customer data taking action on behalf of customers). See also Amendment 9.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 20 allows regulations to provide that the processing of information they require does not breach obligations of confidence or other restrictions on processing information. However, regulations cannot compel businesses to breach data protection legislation. This mirrors the approach taken towards pensions dashboards in the Pensions Act 2004. Clause 21 outlines further provisions that regulations may contain. Those include references to published standards and technical requirements, and the conferral of functions. The clause allows the part 1 powers to be used flexibly and tailored for their purpose. It also prevents regulations from enabling a person to set the maximum amounts of fines, financial penalties or fees, which adds to the safeguards in clauses 10 and 11. Finally, the clause stipulates when regulations can amend primary legislation to support consumer redress. Clause 22 ensures that the regulations are properly scrutinised and requires that certain regulations be subject to affirmative parliamentary scrutiny. Those include regulations that introduce smart data schemes or make them more onerous, contain enforcement provisions and impose fees or a levy, as well as regulations under the financial services sector clauses. The clause also requires appropriate consultation before the regulations are made. Clause 23 clarifies that part 1 powers may be used to amend existing subordinate legislation dealing with equivalent subject matter, rather than creating stand-alone regulations. This provision could be used to amend existing data-sharing requirements such as open banking provisions in the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Clause 24 repeals sections 89 to 91 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, which part 1 of the Bill replaces. The powers in the 2013 Act are no longer adequate to enable the introduction of effective smart data schemes. That was recognised in the previous iterations of this Bill under a previous Government, and we agree. Question put and agreed to . Clause 20 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill . Clauses 21 to 24 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 25 Other defined terms Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Government amendment 1 amends clause 8(5) to reflect that the conditions relating to authorisation or approval of third-party recipients will not necessarily be imposed by the decision makers who carry out the authorisation or approval. Government amendments 2, 3 and 5 amend clause 8(10) to require or allow enforcers to publish or provide documents as well as information, ensuring consistency with the powers of decision makers and interface bodies. Government amendment 4 removes unnecessary wording in subsection (10) to ensure consistency with equivalent clauses elsewhere. I commend these minor and technical amendments to the Committee. Clause 8 enables regulations to confer powers on public bodies, known as enforcers, to monitor and enforce compliance with smart data schemes. Monitoring powers include requiring information and powers of inspection. Enforcement powers include issuing notices requiring compliance, naming and shaming non-compliance, and imposing financial penalties. Regulations may create criminal offences for falsification or similar conduct. To ensure accountability and transparency, regulations may provide for reviews of enforcers’ decisions, appeal rights, and complaint procedures.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is simply that there is no requirement for people to use a digital verification service to be able to secure the service that they want. Obviously, that is a key part of how local government or Government have to deliver their services. They have to think not only about the people who can use digital services, but about those who cannot, for all the reasons that we have laid out. The hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted is absolutely right about banks, and it is not just in Harpenden; I do not have a bank in my constituency. I have seen them go one after another after another. We have a banking hub, but even it has had to move. That provides all sorts of difficulties for people who do not want to do their banking in any way other than physically going into a bank. That is why both our Government many years ago, then the Conservative Government for years, were trying to encourage people to use the post office as an alternative means of doing their banking. That is the pattern that we will have to adopt. Government will always have to be aware. While we may want all the productivity gains and the added security that digital verification services can provide, none the less we need to ensure that others are provided for. That is all provided for in the Bill, and I would say adequately, although the hon. Member may disagree with me. Yet again, I am still resisting any amendment and urge that the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Strictly speaking, it is a misnomer to say that we do the Bill line by line; we do it clause by clause, or grouping by grouping. The first grouping contains clause 1 and new clause 15, which was tabled by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted. Clauses 1 to 26 establish regulation-making powers to implement smart data schemes. I think this part of the Bill is universally accepted, or it was in a previous version of the Bill—this is at least the third version of the Bill that a House of Commons Committee has considered line by line, clause by clause or grouping by grouping. These clauses were part 3 of the old Bill, but it is none the less important that we go through each of the clauses segment by segment, because this is a newly constituted House of Commons, with different Members and political parties, and therefore we have to consider them fully. As many hon. Members will know, smart data involves traders securely sharing data with the customer or authorised third parties at the customer’s request. Those third parties may use the data to provide the customer with innovative services, including account management services or price comparisons. This has already been spectacularly successful in open banking. Clause 1 defines the key terms and scope of part 1, which covers clauses 1 to 26. Subsection (2) defines the kinds of data to which part 1 applies: “customer data”, which is information specific to a customer of a trader, and “business data”, which is generic data relating to the goods, services or digital content provided by that trader. It also defines “data holder” and “trader” to clarify who may be required to provide data. That covers persons providing the goods, services or digital content, whether they are doing so themselves or through others, or processing related data. Subsections (3) to (5) set out who is a customer of a trader. Customers can include both consumers and businesses such as companies. Subsection (6) recognises that regulations may provide for data access rather than transfer. I commend clause 1 to the Committee and urge hon. Members to resist the temptations offered by the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, who tabled new clause 15. I thank her for her interest in smart data. We had a very good conversation a week ago. I am glad to be able to confirm that, following some pressure from the Liberal Democrats in the other place, the Government announced that the Department for Business and Trade intends to publish a strategy document later this year on future uses of those powers. Since the hon. Member’s new clause asks for a road map and we are saying that there will be a strategy, the difference between us may just be semantic. The strategy document will lay out the Government’s plans to consult or conduct calls for evidence in a number of sectors. It is important that we implement those powers only after having properly spoken with relevant parties such as consumer groups and industry bodies in the sector. Clause 22 also requires consultation before commencement in any sector. As such, we think the best approach is to use powers in part 1 of the Bill to implement smart data schemes that fit the identified needs of the relevant sector. The strategy document will set out the Government’s plans for doing so. For that reason, I ask the hon. Lady to withdraw her new clause.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 51 enables the Secretary of State to issue written notices to accredited conformity assessment bodies and registered digital verification service providers, requesting information that he may reasonably require to exercise his functions under part 2 of the Bill. That could include information on inclusion, fraud or other statistical information to assist the Secretary of State in carrying out his duties under this part of the Bill. The notice must state why the information is required and may specify or describe particular information, together with the form in which it must be provided, the time within which it must be provided and where it must be provided. The clause also sets out circumstances where disclosure would not be required—for example, where it would contravene the data protection legislation. Non-compliance with the clause by registered providers may result in removal from the digital verification services register. Question put and agreed to. Clause 51 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 52 Arrangements for third party to exercise functions Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am conscious that we are steaming towards the end of part 2 of the Bill. It is 11.10 am, and we could go on until 11.30 am, but it might be convenient for Members if we were to end a little earlier and then move on to parts 3 and 4 this afternoon. That would be a matter for the Whips, and I do not like to tell a Whip what to do. Clause 52 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations for his functions to be exercised by a third party. Such delegation may be made for any function of the Secretary of State under part 2 of the Bill, except for his regulation-making powers. The delegation may also provide for payments to be made and received from the third party to whom functions are delegated. This clause gives the Secretary of State the flexibility to adapt to the governance needs of the digital identity market as it grows. Governance functions will initially sit within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and future plans to delegate any function in part 2 of the Bill will be carefully considered and subject to parliamentary scrutiny under the affirmative procedure. Clause 53 requires the Secretary of State to prepare and publish reports on the operation of part 2 of the Bill at least every 12 months, with the first report due 12 months after the commencement of clause 28, which concerns the publication of the digital verification services trust framework. These reports will be published on gov.uk. This publication will strengthen transparency in the Government’s digital identity programme and boost trust in the market. Clause 54 is an index of terms defined or explained in part 2 of the Bill. It sets out the subsection numbers where definitions and explanations can be found. Ordered, That the debate be now adjourned.— (Kate Dearden.)