Jo Swinson – 2012 Comments on Midata

The comments made by Jo Swinson, the then Employment and Consumer Affairs Minister, on 19 November 2012.

‘midata’ is all about putting power into the hands of consumers. Many businesses reap huge commercial benefits from the information they gather from consumers’ daily spending patterns. Why shouldn’t consumers also benefit from this by having access to their own data to enable them to make better choices?

It’s great when your energy provider tells you how much gas or electricity you’re using at any point in the year or when phone companies tell you which one of their tariffs suits you best. But it’s even better when consumers can use that information to get better value for money deals or adjust their lifestyles.

This is just one of many ways ‘midata’ can help, as businesses increasingly recognise sharing data as a means to deliver a better service for their customers.