Dr Robert BarrUnited Kingdom

University of Manchester

and

Association for Geographic Information

r.barr@man.ac.uk

The United Kingdom?

• In the UK many GI data Policies are determined at ‘National’ levels within the UK:

– Northern Ireland– Scotland– Wales– England– or Great Britain (UK – Northern Ireland)

Fragmented GI leadership

• Mapping agencies:– Ordnance Survey Great Britain (OSGB)– Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland (OSNI)

• Ministries– Department of Transport Local Government and

the Regions (DTLR)– Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Offices– Office for National Statistics

Fragmented GI leadership

• Regulators– Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO)– POSTCOM (the Postal Regulator)– NIMSA Review committee

National Interest in Mapping Service Agreement

– IDe&A Improvement and Development Agency for local

government

Fragmented GI leadership

• Regulators– Office of the e-envoy– Cabinet Office– DTLR

• Advisers– Director General Ordnance Survey

• Lobby and pressure Groups– Association for Geographic Information

Fragmented GI leadership

• Suppliers– Ordnance Survey(s)

OSGB and OSNI

– Consignia (Post Office)– Specialist agencies e.g.

Environment Agency, British Geological Survey, Hydrographic Office

– Private sector e.g. Aerial photography / remote sensing / general mapping /

in-car navigational / location based services

New policies affecting UK

• Click-use-pay– HMSO regulating new policies for public sector information

• E-government– E-envoy working across government

• Regional Assemblies– New information level

• Privacy and data sharing– Performance and Innovation Unit

New policies affecting UK

• Electronic conveyancing – Property transactions

National Land Information Service (NLIS) National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG)

• National ID register– ID cards or – Local Authorities Secure Electoral Register

(LASER)

New policies affecting UK

• Pan-government Service Level Agreement– Ordnance Survey mapping for all central

government departments

• Land registration– HMLR index map – towards a national cadastre

• Identifiers– UPRN – NLPG– TOID MasterMap

UPRNs

Manor House 15-19 Church Street

109877765413

3094477765416 298877765401

2209877765476

789877765444

619877765424

223877765476

109877765413

989877765325899877765561

Council Tax/Rates

Gas, Water & Electricity Supply

Rights of passage

Ownership/Leases/licences

Housing Benefit

Electoral Roll

Planning/use

Emergency Services

Social Services

Refuse Collection

NLPGNLPG

Topographic Identifiers (TOIDs)

UK legal issues

• The lack of an adequate legal framework is becoming clear e.g.– Legal challenge to distribution of Electoral

Register upheld– OSGB involved in major copyright and

competition cases– European Data Protection legislation vague over

when ‘geographical’ information becomes ‘personal’

Problems and possible solutions

• PROBLEM

Fragmented leadership

• Lack of legal framework

• Cost recovery

• Privacy at threat

• SOLUTION

• Geographic Commission

• NSDI act to define the definitive

• Finance basic infrastructure from registration fees

• Explicitly add geographic dimension to Data Protection Laws

Conclusions

• The UK cost recovery approach has generated a rich diversity of GI data sets

• It has also led to many serious inconsistencies and has failed to maximise the use of GI, particularly in government

• The UK needs a clear policy for separating a minimum definitive NSDI, financed from taxes or fees and placed in the public domain; and a regulated competitive market