Data (Use and Access) Bill: Motion to insist on disagreement to LA49 and make (a) to (e) in lieu

Parliament voted on 10 June 2025 to override a House of Lords amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, passing a government motion to insist on its disagreement with Lords Amendment 49 and substitute a set of alternative provisions in its place. The vote passed by 304 ayes to 189 noes. The division was the latest exchange in a prolonged "ping-pong" process (the back-and-forth between the two chambers when they disagree on legislation) between the Commons and the Lords over the scope of data-sharing powers in the Bill.

The vote concerns one of the most contested elements of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, which governs how public bodies and private organisations may share, access and use personal data. Lords Amendment 49, which the government has repeatedly sought to remove or replace, would have placed stronger restrictions on the circumstances under which government bodies could access and share citizens' data, strengthening privacy safeguards relative to the government's preferred approach. The government's replacement provisions, labelled (a) to (e) in lieu, represent its own framing of the boundaries around data sharing, which ministers argue are sufficient while enabling broader use of data for public services and economic purposes. Critics argue the Lords' version offered more robust protections for individual privacy and civil liberties.

The political divide in this vote was sharp and largely followed party lines. Labour MPs, including those sitting under the Labour and Co-operative Party label, voted almost unanimously in favour of the government position, providing the winning margin. Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru, the Greens and the Democratic Unionist Party all voted against, forming an unusual cross-party alliance in support of the Lords' position. One Liberal Democrat MP voted with the government. Among independents, three voted aye and nine voted no. There was one Labour MP who voted against the government. The result continued a pattern visible across several related divisions since May 2025, in which the government has consistently prevailed in the Commons while the Lords has repeatedly returned amendments seeking stronger privacy provisions.