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The UK Government has committed to leverage the power of data to support economic growth. The Industrial Strategy set out the ambition to capitalise on the value of UK data, treating it as an economic asset. The recent adoption of the Data (Use and Access) Act has now enabled the implementation of this ambition, establishing the legal basis for the creation of sector-specific frameworks for sharing consumer and business data with third parties in sectors including energy, digital, transport, property, financial services, and potentially more.
The Government has committed to invest £36 million to support the creation of these sector-specific frameworks, called ‘Smart Data’ schemes.
Smart Data schemes will enable consumers and businesses to share data held by service providers with authorised third parties via secure digital channels and with appropriate consent, in return for new or improved product offers and tailored services. Think, for instance, of data from smart readers, electric vehicles, transactions, savings, etc, or price data from businesses. Smart Data schemes will strengthen access to these data to increase transparency in the market and foster competition.
Government departments, sector regulators and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are now working out the details of how these Smart Data schemes will be shaped and implemented. This is the right time for businesses to consider what Smart Data will mean for them, including the opportunities and risks that they may bring, and to engage with the relevant government departments and regulators, contributing with ideas and views on how these new schemes should be designed in a way most likely to deliver benefits in the sectors where they are implemented.
Building on the principles of Open Banking, the Government has positioned Smart Data schemes as a central component of its pro-growth agenda, estimating a £10 billion boost to the UK economy over ten years.
Open banking and Open Finance
Open banking started in 2017 following the CMA’s market investigation into retail banking to promote competition and innovation in the sector. It allows consumers and SMEs to share financial data (e.g., data from current accounts and credit cards such as transactions, balances, etc.) with authorised third parties. It is considered a success story, with over 15 million users and nearly 30 million monthly Open Banking payments.
Expanding Open Banking is a priority for Government, as set out in the National Payments Vision. To do this, the Government has committed to introducing a formal Smart Data scheme and has named the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator to progress the Open Banking plans. Open Banking currently operates under a non-statutory framework, but a statutory instrument from HMT setting out the future long term regulatory framework is expected soon, with the FCA developing detailed policy. A ’Future Entity’ will be established to develop and monitor adherence to standards (e.g., common standards to ensure interoperability across Open Banking services).
Open Finance will be built on Open Banking’s foundations, and expand it to a wider range of products, such as savings, pensions, investments and insurance. Open Finance is based on the idea that data should be available, portable and standardized, and unlocking access to core datasets such as transaction histories, savings, investments, credit files, etc, is essential. It is expected that the Future Entity for Open Banking will have its remit expanded to cover Open Finance. The FCA launched a Smart Data Accelerator to facilitate the testing of Open Finance use cases, encourage the development of solutions, and help shape future policy. The FCA will publish a roadmap for Open Finance by March 2026.
Beyond financial services – Designing Smart Data schemes across the economy
In July, the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) launched a call for evidence with a view to shaping the Government’s next steps on Smart Data opportunities in digital markets. The consultation was broad in terms of the areas that it considered (e.g., e-commerce sites, service marketplaces, subscription services, and social media shopping features, etc.), asking respondents to suggest additional areas. This means a Smart Data scheme could impact a wide range of digital services.
Given the broad scope of this consultation, DSIT’s thinking on the specifics appears to be at a relatively early stage, with more detailed aspects (e.g. defining services and data in scope of a future Smart Data scheme) to be informed by stakeholder feedback and confirmed in the coming months. An area of uncertainty is how Smart Data schemes would interact with the CMA’s new digital regulation powers.
In January, the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) ran a call for evidence on potential Smart Data schemes in the energy sector. The call for evidence asked stakeholders for views on the scope of Smart Data schemes, including what type of data should be in scope (e.g. generation data; suppliers’ data; data from small-scale assets such as heat pumps, solar panels or battery storage; properties’ data such as energy efficiency; vehicles data such as EV data, etc). Examples presented in the consultation included a Smart Data scheme that could feed energy usage information into price comparison services; a scheme that could use consumption, energy account data and financial information to accurately identify and offer target support to vulnerable customers; and a scheme that could improve the data quality reported by charging point operators to increase the accuracy of EV charging point information available to customers.
In its response this summer, DESNZ underlined that a substantial majority of respondents from a diverse range of stakeholder groups were supportive of Smart Data schemes and it would identify options for a potential consultation on a detailed proposal. DESNZ will work closely with Ofgem and the Department for Business and Trade. Recognising that there are already a number of industry initiatives, DESNZ is keen to focus on schemes that would complement existing initiatives, rather than duplicating efforts.
In August 2025, the CMA published a discussion paper outlining a framework for how sharing price data can promote competition across the economy through “price transparency schemes”. These schemes would require businesses to share data with third parties so consumers can compare prices across services. This would support effective competition by improving consumers’ ability to shop around.
These schemes are a type of Smart Data scheme focused on price transparency, and which will only require sharing business data (pricing and product data). As they do not require sharing customer data, price transparency schemes are deemed more straightforward and less costly to implement. The CMA presents the Fuel Finder Scheme as an example of how Price Transparency schemes could work in other sectors. The Fuel Finder Scheme enable retailers to share price data with an aggregator, which then provides data to third parties (e.g. price comparison websites), helping consumers find the cheapest fuel. The CMA expects that transparency schemes are likely to be met with resistance and will require mandatory participation. According to the CMA, voluntary, industry-led initiatives are unlikely to be implemented in a satisfactory way. The CMA will continue engaging with Government, other regulators and stakeholders to refine its thinking, including on the sectors where these price transparency schemes could be implemented as a priority.
Smart data schemes will be implemented via secondary regulation. Under the Data (Use and Access) Act, different lead departments and the Treasury are empowered to pass new regulations that will define the scope, mechanics, and obligations of each framework. These statutory instruments must be preceded by formal consultations, providing a crucial opportunity for businesses to engage, influence outcomes, and prepare for future obligations. The Government is expected to clarify its approach later this year through a new Smart Data Strategy.
The Government, the CMA and sector regulators will have to grapple with complicated questions when designing these schemes, such as what type of data and service providers should be in scope, whether data holders should be able to charge for data access, how APIs should be deployed in a safe and privacy-friendly manner, to what extent schemes should be interoperable with each other, monitoring mechanisms, etc.
Although the Government has already identified priority sectors (energy, digital, transport, property, financial services), businesses could assess if their sectors would benefit from new data-sharing rules, make the case as to why a given sector should be a priority. This would require producing pro-competition and pro-innovation arguments, as well as evidence on the potential benefits to the UK economy.
Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss further the expected developments and how to engage with Government and regulators on the development of Smart Data schemes. Our team includes political, competition, and regulatory experts, including former Government officials and former officials from the CMA, Ofgem, Ofcom and the FCA, who understand how Government and regulators think about these issues.
This blog was written by Karla Perca López, Adam Henry, Orla Middlemiss, and Jose Michaus. Karla advises clients on competition issues across a range of sectors, including digital. Adam advises client on a wide range of regulatory issues with a focus in financial services sector and worked at the FCA for several years before joining Flint. Orla supports clients on digital and tech policy regulatory issues, having previously worked in DCMS and at the UK’s privacy regulator (ICO). Jose works with several clients in the digital space, where he provides strategic policy and regulatory advice.