Office of Public Sector Information

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Central government departments

Information Asset: Consultations

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. Consultation information was one of these.

Government consultations are published all the time. Sites like www.tellthemwhatyouthink.org collect consultations in one place, enabling people to search all the consultations or be alerted to consultations of particular interest. This type of service would be easier to create and maintain if departments published consultations in a consistent way.

My ideal solution

A standardised mark-up for consultations, so they can be easily and consistently scraped.

What I would do

More services like www.tellthemwhatyouthink.org

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Local Authorities

Information Asset: Licensed Premises

The problem

Local authorities grant licences to pubs, bars, clubs etc. Details of these licences are usually published in the local newspaper, not online - and even where this information is online, it's not available in a way that makes it easy to extract, aggregate and re-use.

My ideal solution

Details of every licence granted should be published by local authorities in a consistent and re-usable way, to allow easy combination with other sources of data.

What I would do

A google maps style mash-up, showing the distribution for the granting of different types of licences alongside, ideally, data about the numbers of reported crimes around those premises.

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Local Authorities

Information Asset: Planning Applications

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. Planning Applications held by local authorities were one of these.

My ideal solution

All UK planning applications to be published online using open and re-usable data formats. At the moment some planning applications are published on the planning portal website, some on local authority websites. This information should be brought together in an interoperable way that allows onward re-use.

What I would do

This is a core dataset for building almost any kind of local community website, that allows people to interact and express their views about changes to the local built environment.

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: HM Treasury

Information Asset: Government Expenditure

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. This was one of them.

Every year the Treasury publishes high level information about government expenditure as part of the budget. This data is not published on the web using formats which aid re-use (XML or RDF), nor is iit sufficiently detailed. In the United States by contrast Federal Government expenditure information can be accessed down to the individual transaction level.

My ideal solution

An API of government expenditure information published by the Treasury, plus more detailed government expenditure data.

What I would do

Package the information in ways that allow easy re-use and build services like US Government Spending for the UK.

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Companies House

Information Asset: Company Information

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. This was one of them.

Companies House provides some free basic information about companies on the web, but not in a format that aids re-use. They also offer a WebCHeck service, which allows you to view a company's filing history and purchase copies of document images, as well as a selection of company reports. This information should be made freely available on the web. The Cambridge Economic Study into the impact of charging for information by the Trading Funds, including Companies House, showed there would be economic benefit if this information was made freely available, not least for Ramsey Pricing reasons.

My ideal solution

• A RESTful API for company information filed with Companies House.
• Free access to Companies House information.

The API should provide equivalent access to developers to data that the WebCHeck service provides to the public.

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Department of Health

Information Asset: NHS Choices API

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. This was one of them. NHS Choices provides a free API to its service directories but only makes this available to "approved partners". This information should simply be publicly available.

My ideal solution

Open the NHS Choices API to everyone, not just "approved partners".

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Ordnance Survey

Information Asset: Postcodes to administrative areas

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. This is a basic dataset for geo-coders - given a postcode what administrative district does it lie within. A wide variety of applications and campaigns need this information, from improving policing to cleaning up litter.

My ideal solution

That the dataset provided by Ordnance Survey is made available free of charge, particularly for non-commercial re-use, and supplied on the web.

What I would do

Many of the suggestions made as part of the Show Us a Better Way competition.

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Local Government Information House (LGIH)

Information Asset: National Land Property Gazetteer (NLPG)

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified, of which this was one. The National Land and Property Gazetteer is available for re-use, but you have to buy it commercially, restricting its wider re-use, particularly by not-for profit organisations or start-up innovators. This type of basic information, collected by local authorities should be made available free of charge, to all who want it.

My ideal solution

Free access to the NLPG, particularly for not for profit applications or for start-up innovators.

What I would do

As with the National Street Gazetteer, the NLPG is a core dataset which is useful for a wide range of applications - basically anytime you have an address and you want to do a mash-up, the NLPG is of use.

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Local Government Information House (LGIH)

Information Asset: National Street Gazetteer (NSG)

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. The National Street Gazetteer was one of these. It holds details of every street in England, providing a complete list. It is used as a framework for sharing and integrating data, particularly to support Street Works Notices.

Supply of data from the National Street Gazetteer is on a commercial basis and involves the payment of a significant fee. It would be better if this dataset were made freely available, on the web, to support a variety of other uses.

My ideal solution

Free access to the NSG, particularly for non-commercial or experimental re-use.

What I would do

The NSG is a core dataset which would be useful to support many other types of application, particularly in the transport area. Just the list of cycleways would be useful, say to support cycling community initiatives on the web.

Posted by: Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information

Public Sector Information Holder: Office of Public Sector Information

Information Asset: Information Asset Registers

The problem

At the Open Knowledge Foundation Workshop on Finding and Re-using Public Information, a list of 15-20 key government / public datasets were identified. Information Asset Registers were one of these.

There is a requirement under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations for organisations to publish a list of main documents available for re-use. The INSPIRE Directive requires similarly well described information assets. These lists should be themselves re-usable.

The Office of Public Sector Information has for some time aggregated Information Asset Registers and provided a search of them. This is a service that anyone should be able to provide.

My ideal solution

Information Asset Registers published in open, reusable formats such as XML or RDF.

What I would do

Build services which allow people to more easily find what information is available for re-use.