On 1 July 2005, the Re-Use of Public Sector Data Regulations came into force introducing fundamental changes to the way in which the public sector will need to facilitate access to the information it holds.
The impetus behind the legislation is a recognition that public sector information is a valuable information resource that can be used by the private sector to develop value-added products and services. These reforms will have a direct impact on the way in which the search industry obtains data for inclusion in reports, with a move away from requesting information on a property-specific basis to the wholesale collection of data.
John Gray, an expert in PSI issues, has recently undertaken an exhaustive survey of all 426 local authorities seeking their views on the PSI Euro Directive in terms of:
The replies received from the Local Authorities are disturbing in that:
Having had the opportunity to speak to a number of Information Officers within those Local Authorities who found the time to respond to the survey, it seems obvious that whilst individual Officers were generally helpful, the whole acceptance & management of the needs of the Euro Directive on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information were beset with problems in terms of:
The Survey of all 426 Local Authorities clearly indicates that although Central Government resources have been allocated to promoting the needs of the Euro Directive - through OPSI (Office of Public Sector Information); APPSI (Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information) and the Office of the Information Commissioner, acceptance at an operational level with UK Local Authorities is at best poor and at worst – non existent.
The Euro Directive is to be revisited in 2008 and if compliance is to be achieved there will need to be a sea change of attitude from within the Public Sector and particularly Local Authorities as a focal point of local governance within the UK.
A failure to establish meaningful Re-use regimes will not only continue to undermine the objectives of the 2005 Directive but will also impede and obstruct both public and private sector initiatives and lead to a widespread failure in the UK to both manage and promote the inherent value of the information economy as a positive and beneficial resource.
On 15 May 2007, the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC came into force.
Member States now have two years to transpose the INSPIRE Directive, which will come into force within all Member States on the 15 May 2009. The implications for public sector information will have a positive impact for private search companies. CoPSO will be liaising with Government departments on the introduction of the Directive.
The INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) is currently of interest to search providers because it seeks to harmonise key data relating to the environment which could include any written, visual aural electronic or any other material form on:
Initially, the Directive obliged all EC Governments to collect this information in a form which could have been used across borders and make it available free to all public sector bodies. It also guaranteed the right of the public to view this spatial data for free. However, the UK Government objected to providing free access to the information and so amendments were made making the data subject to charges, if fees would normally have been levied.
Under the current wording of the Directive, access to the data and the right to republish it are not free of cost. There are many lobby groups seeking to amend the Directive to secure free-of-cost geospatial data but at this stage it looks unlikely that this will be achieved. Organisations such as Ordnance Survey have played a central role in pressing to retain charging for data and, in turn, their commercial position.