The Information Commissioner's Office will become the Information Commission on 30 September 2026 after the government made commencement regulations bringing into force the provisions of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 that abolish the office of Information Commissioner and transfer its functions to the new body.
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, made on 10 September and signed by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Stephanie Peacock, commence section 118 of the Act, which abolishes the office of Information Commissioner and repeals Schedule 12 to the Data Protection Act 2018, and section 119, which transfers the Commissioner's functions to the Information Commission.
The regulations include a general continuity provision under which anything done, or in the process of being done, by or in relation to the Information Commissioner immediately before 30 September is treated as done by or in relation to the Information Commission and capable of being continued by it. This covers acts, omissions and legal proceedings, so live investigations, decision notices under appeal and tribunal cases in the Commissioner's name will carry across without interruption. A saving provision keeps the existing accounting duties in Schedule 12 active for the financial year ending 31 March 2027, to be discharged by the Commission.
The ICO said the transition changes the organisation's governance structure while maintaining its existing regulatory functions and responsibilities, and that it remained focused on continuity of service for customers and stakeholders.
The Information Commission was created by section 117 of the 2025 Act as a body corporate with between three and 14 members appointed by the Secretary of State, replacing the corporation sole model under which a single Commissioner has held all regulatory powers since the Data Protection Act 1984. The provisions establishing the Commission were commenced in 2025, but the transfer of functions was held back until the board was in place.
The seven non-executive members appointed in July - Laurie Benson, Maggie Carver, Stephen Cohen, Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs, Gary Kildare, Hilary Newiss and Scott McPherson - will take up their roles on 30 September. Paul Arnold, who has been exercising the Commissioner's functions as Deputy Commissioner since John Edwards stepped back in February, joins the board as Accounting Officer and interim Chief Executive.
The Commission will launch without a permanent chair. Edwards had been due to chair the new body until the end of his term, but resigned as Commissioner and chair-designate on 19 June after an independent workplace investigation found there was a case to answer over his conduct. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) began the recruitment process for a chair on 15 July, with applications closing on 19 August. An appointment is unlikely before late autumn at the earliest.
Arnold said in July that the ICO had worked for some time towards updating its long-standing governance arrangements, and that recent events had brought this into sharper focus. He said the appointments would ensure the board immediately benefited from a wide range of skills and experience, and that he looked forward to working with the new members to deliver against a broad statutory remit with a strong and inclusive workplace culture for ICO staff.
DSIT Secretary of State Liz Kendall said when launching the chair recruitment that the Commission must be an organisation people trust, and that trust starts with culture, strong leadership, clear values and a board that upholds the highest standards of conduct and accountability. She has also announced an independent review into the culture, accountability and governance of the ICO.
The statutory functions under UK GDPR, the DPA 2018, FOIA, the EIR and PECR are unchanged, and the continuity provision means existing notices, undertakings and proceedings stand. Correspondence, references in policies and privacy notices, and template documents that name the Information Commissioner or ICO will need updating over time, although nothing in the regulations invalidates references to the former office.
