United Kingdom's HM Treasury has published a consultation and call for evidence on potential enhancements to the Commercial Credit Data Sharing (CCDS) scheme, which requires Treasury-designated banks to share in-scope small and medium-sized business (SME) credit information with designated credit reference agencies (with SME consent) for onward sharing with finance providers. The consultation tests whether changes are needed to keep CCDS effective as the SME lending market and technology evolve, and notes that reforms could be delivered through amended legislation, additional designations, and or guidance depending on feedback. The proposals and questions focus on data quality and operational frictions, including moving to a single standardised data format (phasing out older specifications), improving how errors are amended (including exploring online amendment portals), and tightening or clarifying data submission and cut-off deadlines for designated banks and participating non-designated finance providers. HM Treasury also invites views on addressing perceived cliff-edge effects in the CCDS SME definition, including the GBP 25 million turnover threshold and the group-turnover rule, with an illustrative option to keep firms in scope until they exceed a higher turnover level for a sustained period (for example, GBP 40 million for 36 months), and on whether not-for-profit organisations should be brought into scope. On market coverage, the consultation considers broadening the designation regime beyond banks to capture significant non-bank finance providers and firms providing business current accounts, and whether participating providers should be required to share data with all designated credit reference agencies rather than only the agency from which they accessed CCDS data. It further seeks evidence on improving SME access to, and understanding of, their credit files; addressing legacy consent gaps for pre-2017 accounts (for example by obtaining consent at the next meaningful customer contact such as terms and conditions updates); and updating the CCDS dataset by adding newer product types while potentially exempting low-value products such as stocking loans, including in the context of emerging Open Finance developments. The consultation runs from 25 September 2025 to 20 November 2025. HM Treasury will evaluate responses and, depending on findings, consider whether policy objectives require legislative change (potentially primary or secondary legislation) or can be achieved through alternative measures such as further designations and guidance.

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