New report calls on UK Government to unlock £27bn Smart Data ‘revolution’

Startup Coalition and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) have called on the UK government to “make Smart Data happen” by focusing on finance, energy and property.

In a joint report published yesterday (5 February), the Startup Coalition and TBI said that the UK “is on the cusp of introducing a data revolution, one which will put consumers back in control of their finances, reduce energy bills and speed up house-buying”.

They called the report “a call to arms to crack on with bringing Smart Data to life”, citing it as a £27 billion opportunity, but which only exists currently through Open Banking.

Startup Coalition and TBI said that the Data (Use and Access) Bill, which is expected to become law before Spring of this year, will herald the arrival of the “Smart Data revolution”, giving UK policymakers “the power” to put consumers in control of their own data.

“This report calls on the Government to work in the very way that the Prime Minister promised and be mission led, unconstrained by Departmental borders. If the mission of this Government is growth, Smart Data can help unlock it if all Ministers take the potential seriously,” Startup Coalition and TBI stated in the report.

The first “action” in relation to Open Finance that the report believes should be taken is for Treasury to launch a consultation on a proposed Open Finance Scheme that includes savings, investments, pensions and mortgages.

The report stated that Open Finance is a “key driver to economic growth”, and pointed to the success of Open Banking, which is used by 12 million people and spurred the creation of a £4 billion startup sector, which has already seen 14 exits.

A panel discussion hosted by Startup Coalition and Moneyhub yesterday, featuring representatives from Moneyhub, alongside Luke Charters MP, the Chair of the Fintech APPG, as well as policymakers, discussed the potential economic growth that Open Finance could unlock.

Speakers also identified Smart Data as a “potential export model” for the UK.

Open Energy and Open Property

Startup Coalition together with TBI also propose the rollout of an Open Energy scheme, on the basis it would help the Labour Government’s target to achieve net zero in the energy grid by 2030, as well as lower household energy bills.

In January, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero issued a call for evidence on a potential new Smart Data scheme.

It is asking specifically for views on the current energy landscape, the potential customer problems that could be solved through a Smart Data scheme, and the challenges, barriers and risks involved with developing such a scheme.

Following this call for evidence in the first quarter of 2024, Startup Coalition and TBI want to see the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero consult on the design of a Smart Data scheme covering household energy use before Summer recess 2025.

The third Smart Data scheme championed in the report is Open Property, given the “complex, duplicative and inefficient” homebuying process in the UK.

Among the challenges facing an Open Property scheme identified by the report is that it is a “complex ecosystem”, which means that “opening up data sets will require extensive collaboration across the sector”.

To progress this scheme, Startup Coalition and TBI suggested that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, alongside the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), launch a call for evidence on the merits and design of an Open Property Scheme.

In the report, the Startup Coalition and TBI recognise the need for a Smart Data governance framework and proposed that DSIT conduct a call for evidence on cross-sector Smart Data Governance, “specifically looking at the viability of this sitting with the Regulatory Innovation Office”.

They also want the Labour government to issue a new Smart Data Roadmap, with Open Finance, Open Energy and Open Property as the priority schemes.

The previous Conservative government published a Smart Data Roadmap in April last year, prior to the General Election, which set out its plans for the energy, retail, transport and telecommunications sectors.

Further reading: FCA to deliver VRP, Open Finance in 2025 to ‘support growth’ in the UK