The UK’s Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner’s Office will be replaced by the Information Commission on 30th September 2026. This change was made by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUA Act) although not brought into force until last week.
On 10th September 2026, The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/1015 were passed, bringing the relevant provisions of the DUA Act in to force. These establish a body corporate, the Information Commission. This new body will be led by a chair, chief executive, and other non-executive and executive members with shared decision-making responsibilities. The chair of the Information Commission will retain the title of “Information Commissioner”. No decision has made as to who the new chair will be.
The Information Commissioner’s Office is currently structured as a corporation sole, with all powers and responsibilities vested in one individual, the Information Commissioner. Paul Arnold, the current CEO is acting up in this position; the previous commissioner having resigned in controversial circumstances. This change to the structure of the ICO will not change the role of the regulator; all functions that currently rest with the Information Commissioner will continue to sit with the new Information Commission
For those interested in the technical aspects, Section 117 of the DUA Act inserts new section 114A into the DPA 2018 establishing the Information Commission.
Section 118 abolishes the Information Commissioner, omitting relevant sections of the DPA 2018. Schedule 14 inserts new Schedule 12A into the DPA 2018, setting out the governance structure of the new regulator.
If you are looking to implement the changes made by the DUA Act to the UK data protection regime, consider our very popular half day workshop.
The newly updated UK GDPR Handbook (2nd edition) includes all amendments introduced by the DUA Act, with colour-coded changes for easy navigation and links to relevant recitals, ICO guidance, and caselaw that help make sense of the reforms in context.
We have included relevant provisions of the amended DPA 2018 to support a deeper understanding of how the laws interact.
