COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (087) issued by COI News Distribution
Service on 23 April 2009
A series of
reforms aimed at creating simpler and easier access to
geographical data were announced by Housing Minister Iain Wright
today.
The Government has published a new strategy for the
Ordnance Survey, the business responsible for the national mapping
of Great Britain, which will improve ease of access to geographic
data and services for both commercial and non-commercial use.
The strategy will balance the need to maintain the highest
quality standards with the need to stimulate innovation in the
geographical information market and make data more widely available.
The Ordnance Survey will continue to be self-funded and earn
revenue by licensing its data, but it will make sure it is easier
for customers and other businesses to access its data and services.
Iain Wright said:
"Good maps and location intelligence play an important role
in all our lives from plotting pot holes in the road to how we act
in a national emergency.
"We are committed to innovation in the geographical
information market, increasing competition and to making
geographical data and services more widely available.
"This new strategy will help the Ordnance Survey thrive in
the wider geographical information market that is being
transformed by advances in technology and act as a catalyst for
innovative business growth and prosperity in the 21st century economy."
The strategy focuses on five key areas:
* Promoting innovation - with an enhanced free service to allow
experimentation with digital information and a clear path from
this service to greater commercialisation;
* Reforming Ordnance Survey's licensing framework - so that
it is much simpler to use Ordnance Survey data and services in
other applications;
* Reducing costs over time - to ensure that Ordnance Survey
continues to offer value-for-money;
* Supporting the sharing of information across the public sector
- to enable better public policy and services;
* Creating an innovative trading entity - to explore further
commercial opportunities around Ordnance Survey data and services.
The enhanced OS OpenSpace, the digital mapping service that
enables innovators to experiment and develop their ideas for free,
will be launched on 12 May.
The government has set key milestones for delivery over the next
year and the Shareholder Executive and Office of Public Sector
Information, in consultation with Office Fair Trading, will be
involved in regularly reviewing progress.
Full details of the strategy can be found at http://strategy.ordnancesurvey.co.uk.
Notes to Editors
1. This announcement follows the Trading Funds Assessment, a
review looking at how a number of government businesses which
charge for information could make information available at no or
limited cost.
2. It was announced in the budget that further work on the future
business plans and models for specific trading funds, as well as
consideration of the effectiveness of the Trading Fund model -
will now be incorporated into the Operational Efficiency Programme.
3. The review concluded that the data produced by the Ordnance
Survey was more likely to be maintained at high-quality levels
under a commercial, revenue-funded model rather than through
direct funding from taxation. Ordnance Survey customers told the
review team that the quality of the data was important to them,
but they wanted Ordnance Survey to provide easier access to it so
they can use it more widely in their own business or in new
products for consumers.
4. Further details on the findings of the review are available
from the Shareholder Executive Website http://www.shareholderexecutive.gov.uk/
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