The UK GDPR: summary

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) determines how you must process and store personal data - understand what you have to do and how the data laws changed since Brexit.

Last reviewed on 3 March 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 30801
Contents
  1. What is the UK GDPR?
  2. How has Brexit changed the UK's data protection laws? 
  3. What are your main responsibilities under the UK GDPR? 
  4. The UK GDPR in more detail 
  5. Brief your team on data protection 

What is the UK GDPR?

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) works with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) to form the UK's data protection framework.

It determines how people’s personal data is processed and kept safe, and the legal rights individuals have over their own data. 

The UK adopted the EU GDPR in 2018, but since the UK's withdrawal from the EU it has used its own version, known as the UK GDPR. Find out how the 2 pieces of legislation differ in the section below. 

How has Brexit changed the UK's data protection laws? 

In January 2021, the EU GDPR was incorporated into UK legislation as the 'UK GDPR' (by this piece of legislation).

The DfE published guidance to help education providers stay compliant with these changes, which