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The National Archives has announced the closure of the Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS). Since the first government information trader was accredited to the Scheme in 2003, IFTS has set and assessed standards for public sector information traders through a programme of regular accreditation assessments of the major information traders, including Ordnance Survey, the Met Office and the UK Hydrographic Office, and a desk-based self-assessment of other information traders, such as the Government Art Collection and Transport Scotland. A complaints procedure formed part of the Scheme until it was effectively replaced by the statutory complaints process run by the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

The decision to close IFTS has been taken because the standards it set and assessed have now been superseded by the statutory arrangements put in place by the Regulations.

The National Archives continues to be responsible for the management of Crown copyright, and to provide the UK policy lead for matters relating to re-use. The Licensing Forum, which provides practitioners from across the public sector who are involved in licensing and copyright with an opportunity to share best practice and problems and to discuss developments in information policy, will continue. The National Archives will continue to provide policy advice and guidance on the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations, and further details on the Regulations can be found here.