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On 17 November 2009 the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Communities Secretary, John Denham, announced that the public will have more access to Ordnance Survey maps from next year, as part of government's plan to open up data in order to improve transparency.
During the 'Smarter Government' Seminar, the Prime Minister addressed how the Government and the Ordnance Survey -Great Britain's national mapping agency- will open up its data relating to electoral and local authority boundaries, postcode areas and mid scale mapping information. The Government will consult on proposals to make data from Ordnance Survey freely available, so that it can be used for digital innovation and to support democratic accountability. The proposals will harness the expertise that Ordnance Survey has in the production, maintenance and application of high-quality geospatial information. They build on reforms already delivered in the organisation and would ensure that it is right at the heart of digital innovation in Britain. Freely available facts and figures are essential for driving improvements in public services. It puts information, and therefore power, in the hands of the public and the service providers to challenge or demand innovation in public services.
The Prime Minister has set out the importance of an open data policy as part of broader efforts to strengthen democracy, creating a culture in which Government information is accessible and useful to as many people as possible in order to increase transparency and accountability, to improve public services and create new economic and social value. Making public data available also enables people to reuse it in many different and imaginative ways. Estimates suggest that this could generate as much as a billion pounds (approx. €1 107 000 000) for the UK economy. For example developers might use this information alongside other Government data about transport, health or education, for services that generate economic and social value.
Openness of data is as important for local government as it is for national government - making people more connected to their community and giving them the tools to demand action on issues that matter. Releasing council records in re-usable form could mean that citizens can find out information ranging from the council accounts to the number of streetlights and community wardens, to when the rubbish is collected and the hedges trimmed.
Note: Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO.
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