Making Public Data Public: a consultation

19 March 2010, 2:06pm

Below is a letter from four key industry users of OS data, including ESRI UK - which is used by around half of all local authorities who are concerned at the pace and direction of the consultation.

With the consultation closing it’s not the ideal time to be starting an argument but with the CLG poised to make a swift decision in April we are worried that it’s a foregone conclusion that will miss a key opportunity and mortally wound a key UK institution.
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Dear Sir,
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on November 17th 2009 which set out his vision for Making Public Data Public, a consultation has been taking place on three options for making certain Ordnance Survey datasets available for free with no restrictions on re-use. Submissions to the consultation must be received by March 17th.

We the undersigned, represent companies who employ 630 staff in the UK GIS industry. We represent over 50% of this market and as such are effectively competitors. Whilst each of our companies has submitted an individual response to the consultation, we are writing this letter to express our shared, serious concerns about both the manner in which this consultation is being undertaken and the potential negative impacts that could result, not for our companies, but for the Ordnance Survey and for the UK economy.

Before saying anything else, we wish to record our full support for the role of the Ordnance Survey as a world leader in the collection, maintenance and distribution of the highest quality geographic information and mapping.

The Government press release entitled “Re-mapping the future for Ordnance Survey - making public data public” stated that “…any change would be implemented from April 2010.” We insist that following the close of the consultation on 17th March, adequate time be allowed for a full analysis of the submissions, prior to any decision being taken. We are very concerned that the decision to release a selection of mid- and small- scale products for free appears to have already been made by the Prime Minister’s office.

The consultation document states that were this decision to be taken, it would “drive improved transparency and accountability of government and, by facilitating greater innovation, create new economic and social value”. Whilst this may drive transparency and create social value, we do not consider that any significant economic value would result.

We work on a daily basis with a very wide range of public and private sector customers who need large scale Ordnance Survey data in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their organisations. Currently the cost of this data puts it beyond the reach of many organisations, particularly in the private sector. If we are to create real economic value for the UK, it is the availability of large scale datasets, at reasonable prices, that needs to be addressed, rather than releasing mid- and small- scale datasets for free.

The consultation document says very little about the revenue impact on the Ordnance Survey of releasing datasets for free. The Ordnance Survey is a Trading Fund which is completely self-funded from the revenues it receives from licensing its datasets. If any of these datasets were to be made freely available, this lost revenue would need to be replaced. We would be extremely concerned if this were achieved by increasing the charges for large scale datasets to either the public or private sector or both.

We cannot see how any decision to release Ordnance Survey datasets for free can be made without putting the necessary changes in place to compensate the Ordnance Survey for this lost revenue. In the present economic climate we cannot see the Government or Ordnance Survey public sector customers making up this short-fall and our experience tells us that the private sector will not pay more. Furthermore it is already evident that as a result of this proposed change, Ordnance Survey is feeling considerable pressure to generate additional revenue streams, through the rapid introduction of additional innovative and/or automated product lines. These pressures may encourage Ordnance Survey to risk its long term strategies of high quality geospatical data production for the sake of short term revenue gains.

If the Government is serious about making Government geospatial data more readily available, it also needs to look beyond the Ordnance Survey. Current restrictions on the availability of postal address file data from The Royal Mail and Communities and Local Government identifiers for properties and streets need to be removed. Making all such data more readily available would lead to greater innovation and play an important role in placing the UK at the forefront of the knowledge economy in the twenty-first century.

We appear to be moving towards a decision to release a selection of mid- and small- scale Ordnance Survey products for free, without due regard being given to the future funding of the Ordnance Survey or whether this will drive real economic growth for the UK. This gives us serious cause for concern.

Dr Richard Waite
Managing Director
ESRI (UK) Ltd

Howard Papworth
Executive Director SG&I Western Europe
Intergraph (UK) Limited

Dr Michael Sanderson
Executive Chairman
1Spatial Group Limited

Mike O’Neill
Managing Director
Cadcorp Ltd

GeoConnexion UK