SimplyBiz Group has launched an online resource designed to help advisers meet the requirements of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy.

The EU regulation, which comes into effect on 25 May, will be governed and monitored by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and dictates the way in which UK businesses must deal with the personal data of all individuals who reside in the UK.

The Group’s hub holds information on every step of the journey advisers must take in order to ensure compliance with GDPR, from training options designed to aid awareness to a gap analysis tool and full suite of client-facing material created in line with the upcoming requirements. New internal policy documents and guidance on issues such as the responsibilities of data protection officers and management of breaches are also included.

Richard Ardron, SimplyBiz Group’s marketing director, said: “GDPR is fairly unusual for advisers in a couple of ways; firstly, it’s governed by the ICO, not the FCA, and secondly, it applies to all UK businesses, rather than being financial services specific. There have also been a number of queries surrounding this regulation, such as whether its implementation will be influenced by Brexit and how an adviser could be affected if a client requests their personal data to be destroyed and then later lodges a complaint against the adviser. This confusion means that advisers need clear, reliable and comprehensive support both in the lead-up to D-Day, and beyond.

“The GDPR hub contains detailed information on the policy and how to adhere to it, both providing advisers with peace of mind and ensuring consumer protection. The launch of our hub makes up just part of the support the Group is delivering to advisers in this area. Compliance and policy sessions at our upcoming events will cover GDPR in depth, we’ve issued a number of communications on the subject and, as always, our compliance helpdesk are primed and ready to help advisers with any specific queries they may have.”