Locus looks to the future development of an innovative and competitive private sector in the PSI marketplace

The Locus Association this week welcomed the announcement at the Smarter Government seminar, held at Number 10 Downing Street, of greater access to Ordnance Survey data, some of which will apparently soon be made available free of charge.  The Association further welcomed the emphasis at the seminar on the better use of and greater access to Public Sector Information (PSI) across all Government departments. 

Locus must however highlight that this week’s announcement is just the first step on the road towards a healthy, vibrant and innovative Public Sector Information (PSI) marketplace in the UK.  The Association looks forward to contributing to the consultations that will now take place to flesh out the specifics of which data will be made available and how. Whilst the announcement itself is encouraging, until the detail of the consultation is published the real significance and impact of this week’s announcement will remain unclear. Locus is also seeking clarity from Government as to how these new consultations fit with studies currently being conducted by the Shareholder Executive, CLG, and OPSI, all of which are also intended to address the future of Ordnance Survey and access to OS data.

Locus would like to encourage Government to ensure that three key points form part of its new plan for OS and other Public Sector Information Holders (PSIHs):

• where PSI is still charged for, fees should be based on the cost of production of the data, rather than reflecting the market value of users’ end products, as had previously been planned for OS;
• There should be a clear commitment to making unrefined data available for free, rather than providing “data” through services that compete with those of existing market players; and
• The issue of Derived Data must be resolved, preferably by releasing users of Derived Data from any further obligations to pay royalty fees for data created using OS materials. 

Locus also notes that Ordnance Survey is of course just one of a number of Trading Funds that currently hold PSI that the private sector would like to use but finds access difficult and terms of use unfair or unwield. The Association commented that it will be interesting to see how the principles in the Smarter Government seminar are applied across Government.

Audrey Mandela , Locus Chairman, said “Enhancing access to Public Sector Information (PSI) for re-use - for general economic benefit and as a means of improving services to citizens - is an enduring goal of successive UK Governments, but one that has proved elusive.   Locus hopes that this week’s announcement is a step in the right direction towards the creation of a healthy and competitive private sector marketplace in the UK through the greater availability of Public Sector Information on fair terms.” 

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Notes for Editors:

1.       Locus was established in autumn 2005 and formally launched on 26th January 2006. The Association’s President is a former Director General of the OFT and Oftel, Sir Bryan Carsberg.

2.       The Association exists to raise awareness of, and promote the development of, a healthy and competitive private sector in relation to PSI. Locus acts as a forum for exchange of information, keeps its members up to date with latest policy developments, and provides advice and guidance. Our members recognise the potential of PSI, but also the benefit of uniting to address some of the challenges and pooling resources to meet them. It is worth noting that the particular nature of the PSI market structure, where individual private sector organisations have limited influence, lends itself to the development of a trade body.