According to legislation.gov.uk and the commencement instrument itself, the Government has made the ninth commencement regulations under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, setting 30 September 2026 as the date on which the office of Information Commissioner is abolished and its functions pass to the Information Commission. The Regulations were made on 10 September 2026 and are concerned with the legal handover needed to complete that change. (policyindex.ai)
The change sits within Part 6 of the 2025 Act. The Act’s explanatory notes state that Parliament created the Information Commission as a body corporate to replace the previous regulator, which operated as a corporation sole. In practical terms, the regulator remains in place, but its legal form is being recast from a single statutory office-holder to a commission structure. (legislation.gov.uk)
SI 2026/1015 brings three provisions into force on 30 September 2026. Section 118 abolishes the office of Information Commissioner, section 119 transfers the Commissioner’s functions to the Information Commission, and section 117(4)(a) removes a now-redundant internal cross-reference in the Data Protection Act 2018. (policyindex.ai) That final amendment is technical, but it matters. It confirms that the legislation is not simply changing the regulator’s title; it is updating the statutory text so that the 2018 Act matches the new institutional model. (legislation.gov.uk)
The continuity provision is the main safeguard for ongoing work. Regulation 3 provides that any act, omission or other thing done by, or in relation to, the Information Commissioner before 30 September 2026 - including legal proceedings and matters already in train - is to be treated as done by, or in relation to, the Information Commission and may continue on that basis. (policyindex.ai) For organisations, advisers and complainants, that wording is designed to prevent a procedural break. Live cases do not need to start again merely because the statutory office disappears at the end of September. (lexisnexis.co.uk)
The Regulations also preserve an accounting rule for one further period. Although section 118 abolishes the office on 30 September 2026, paragraph 11 of Schedule 12 to the Data Protection Act 2018 continues to apply for the financial year ending 31 March 2027, with the relevant duties to be discharged by the Information Commission. (policyindex.ai) That saving provision is narrow but necessary. It allows the year-end accounts position to continue on a clear statutory basis while the wider transfer of functions is being completed. (legislationtracker.co.uk)
On the face of the instrument, this is an institutional and administrative change rather than a fresh rewrite of substantive data protection duties. The same regulator’s work continues, but future notices, formal references and proceedings should move across to the Information Commission where the statutory context requires it. (policyindex.ai) That means the immediate task for regulated bodies is mostly operational. Internal precedent documents, case files, governance papers and public-facing compliance material may need updating so that references are consistent after 30 September 2026, especially where matters remain active across the changeover date. (policyindex.ai)
For policy teams, the significance of SI 2026/1015 lies in what it avoids as much as what it changes. By switching on the abolition and transfer provisions together, and by carrying across ongoing acts, proceedings and accounting duties, the Regulations are drafted to minimise legal uncertainty during the move to the Information Commission. (policyindex.ai) The practical question after 30 September 2026 will be how quickly the new institutional form beds in across guidance, enforcement and administration. As a matter of statutory drafting, the handover has been framed as a continuity exercise rather than a regulatory reset. (legislation.gov.uk)