If the UK leaves the EU in Jan 2020 with no agreement in place regarding future arrangements for data protection, there would be no immediate change in the UK’s own data protection standards. The Data Protection Act 2018 would remain in place and the EU Withdrawal Act would incorporate the GDPR into UK law to sit alongside it.

If the European Commission does not make an adequacy decision regarding the UK at the point of exit - EU partners should be given information related to the legal basis for processing and the Government have recommended standard contractual clauses. (These are model data protection clauses that have been approved by the European Commission and enable the free flow of personal data when embedded in a contract).

Last updated: 12 Dec 2019