The UK government has published its Smart Data 2035 Strategy, setting a target of five or more active smart data schemes by 2030 and 20 or more by 2035, backed by at least £36 million in public investment over four years. Under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), the government now has legal powers to compel businesses to participate in these schemes – meaning mandatory data sharing obligations may be coming to numerous sectors. Businesses across banking, finance, energy, property, retail, transport, telecoms, digital markets, and agrifood may wish to begin assessing their exposure.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has separately published guidance on a specific subset of smart data schemes and price transparency schemes, which carry their own compliance implications and unintended competition and privacy law risks.