Westminster eForum Policy Conference | Next Steps for Smart Data - Policy, Regulation and Scheme Implementation

This conference will examine next steps for smart data policy, regulation and implementation in the UK. Areas for discussion include the development of smart data schemes, governance and regulatory coordination, innovation in consumer and business-facing data services and priorities for security, confidence and oversight. Managing Director Amit Sharma will deliver a keynote address titled 'Smart Data in web-native borderless world: Regulatory policy considerations for the UK’. Overall, it will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss next steps following publication of Smart Data 2035: The UK's Smart Data Strategy, with a focus on its long-term vision for secure, trusted data sharing, the development of a cross-economy framework and the conditions needed for smart data services to scale.

Delegates will examine how the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 is being taken forward in practice, including the use of new powers to establish smart data schemes, ICO guidance on data protection and organisational readiness and the sequencing of secondary legislation. Discussion will also consider the Financial Conduct Authority’s Open Finance Roadmap and the way forward for moving from open banking to wider open finance and what experience from the open banking rollout indicates for future governance, standards and delivery.

Discussion will address the pace and scope of scheme development, alongside requirements for interoperability, technical standards and accreditation and the influence of emerging frameworks for competition, innovation and consumer protection on market participation. Regulatory coordination, implementation & market readiness. Sessions will examine regulatory considerations for delivery, including market readiness across financial services, energy, transport, property and retail sectors and the operational capability of regulated entities and authorised third-party providers.

Discussion will draw on recent Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum work on smart data frameworks, including international implementation models, cross-sector regulatory collaboration, consent and accreditation and the design of standards that can support interoperability without unnecessarily constraining innovation.