In March, John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner, met with the Chancellor to set out a number of commitments designed to promote innovation and economic growth. He also outlined how his duties around growth interact with and complement his central responsibility to protect and empower people.
Growth is a strategic priority for the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), and over a five year period it estimates that its activities have enabled up to £140 million of value for UK businesses.
The ICO’s commitments include:
- Helping small and medium sized businesses to cut costs. Central to this is the Data Essentials training and assurance programme, which will help organisations to confidently use customer data responsibly to grow their business while also strengthening customer trust. It aims to help businesses save at least £9.1million over three years. The programme will also be made available bilingually to support the Welsh-speaking business community;
- Piloting an experimentation regime to enable businesses to trial innovative new data-driven solutions. Under rigorous oversight, businesses will, for a limited period, be able to test their ideas without needing to adhere to specific data protection requirements;
- Introducing a statutory code of practice for private and public sector businesses developing or deploying AI, allowing them to unleash the possibilities of the technology while safeguarding the public’s privacy - and strengthening the UK’s position as a global AI leader;
- Cutting red tape for businesses by looking at where existing legislation presents a barrier and paving the way for more privacy-preserving online advertising; and
- Publishing new guidance on international transfers of data, which underpin around 40 per cent of UK exports and 20 per cent of imports – and making it easier for UK businesses to access new markets and partners.
In addition, a wealth of guidance for small businesses is available on the ICO website, including guidance on keeping IT systems safe and secure, handling data protection complaints and a tool to help businesses generate their own privacy notice.
Welsh businesses can also contact the ICO Welsh Affairs team at wales@ico.org.uk for advice.