The legislative framework required to share property and identification details between all parties in the transaction has moved a step closer as the Data (Use and Access) Bill receives royal assent.
With applications across healthcare, planning, utilities, property and ID the Data (Use and Access) Act is wide-ranging. Described as a ‘key driver for change’ the legislation will enable data across the property transaction to be used and shared with relevant permissions. Speaking on a recent Today’s Conveyancer Podcast, Houseful Product Director, Owen Rogers said he saw the bill as an opportunity to compel the industry to share data, at the request of consumers which will remove much of the current duplication of effort.
Despite the Law Society announcing it will ‘pause’ work on the material information form planned to accompany the revamped sixth edition of the TA6 Property Information Form, many providers of up front and material information say the sharing of property data is a critical part of improving the home buying and selling process.
On ID the bill creates the framework for the introduction of trusted digital verification tools to enable people to prove their identity more easily. ID verification providers will need to be certified against a government kitemark, the ‘UK digital identity and attributes trust framework.’ There are currently 49 providers registered on the ‘Register of digital identity and attribute services’ managed by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) which sits under the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). From next year year OfDIA will release a ‘trust mark’ for those on the register.
“By legislating on digital verification services and introducing trusted digital verification tools, people will be able to prove their identity online more easily. This will simplify important tasks such as renting a flat and starting work. The measures will give companies who provide tools for verifying identities the ability to get certified against the government’s stringent trust framework of standards, and receive a ‘trust mark’ to use as a result. As well as increasing trust in the market, these efficiency gains will boost the UK economy by £4.3 billion over the next decade.”
said the government.
The Law Society have welcomed what it describes as ‘impetus to modernise data use’ but remains ‘concerned’ over data protection, legal safeguards and data adequacy.
“The new Act affects the legal sector by updating rules around data compliance, privacy and data adequacy. The Act supports innovation but there must be safeguards and protections for using personal data and publicly available content. The government needs to ensure that the UK retains its EU data adequacy decision so that data continues to flow smoothly. This is crucial to provide confidence to UK businesses, lawyers and clients and ensure that England and Wales remain the global jurisdiction of choice.”
said Law Society CEO Ian Jeffery. He added there needed to be more ‘clarity’ around the use of copyrighted content with ‘checks and balances’ to ensure ensure privacy protections, particularly around personal data; a point articulated in the Law Society’s response to the government’s Copyright and AI consultation.
“Wider data considerations still to be debated, including copyright rules and AI regulation, should aim to protect and benefit the public, fairly balancing the interests of content creators and tech developers.”
One Response
Although this is a good step forward, without changes to the Money Laundering Regulations, and in particular the use of ‘reliance’, nothing changes around sharing identification and verification data.
Many firms seem to think that sharing source of funds/wealth data is also covered by ‘reliance’, however, it isn’t, and remains the responsibility of the instructed firm.
In any event, even if data is shared under a ‘reliance’ agreement, the receiving firm remains liable for any errors or omissions made by the supplying entity.