www.data.gov.uk was launched on 21 January 2010 as a new way of collating and allowing the public to make better use of government data. The website enables users to:
- Look up data on a number of topics, including health and schools.
- Create applications to “mash up” the data. For example, by mashing up the information on school addresses and school league tables, a user can see, using a mapping tool, where high achieving schools in the area are.
The project is part of the Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government project (see our legal update for more information) and has been running in a beta format since September 2009. One of the key aims of the Putting the Frontline First project was to strengthen the role of citizens and civic society by opening up data and public information and to make those datasources free for reuse.
The www.data.gov.uk site only provides non-personal, non-sensitive data and therefore any data protection issues are unlikely to arise with its use (see PLC IPIT & Communications’ legal update).
The possibilities for this site are endless, it represents a way of accessing and using freely-available government data in a meaningful way, that is actually targeted at the public and also has the functionality to create new applications as the ways in which the public use the site evolve. For example, the creators of the site are currently in discussion with the Ordnance Survey to try and put its map data online (this is currently only available freely to small-scale developers).
If use of this website does catch on, it could provide a tool that the public (and press) could use to easily identify the perceived value for money that council tax payers are getting, for example, by mapping council tax rates against various council performance statistics, such as recycling rates and various other performance indicators under comprehensive area agreements. It is also likely to be a useful tool when monitoring the targets imposed on local authorities for the amount of biodegradable municipal waste they send to landfill, which are being progressively reduced. This tool could shame them into fulfilling those targets.
Local authorities should keep an eye on this website, considering the provenance of its creator (that is, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the worldwide web) and the level of government support, it is likely to prove to be a sucessful venture.