Annex 1
ORDNANCE SURVEY PUBLIC TASK
ORDNANCE SURVEY:
OPERATING PRINCIPLES
Ordnance Survey is an independent non-Ministerial
government department and Executive Agency. It operates as a trading
fund under the terms of the Government Trading Funds Act 1973
and The Ordnance Survey Trading Fund Order 1999. It is responsible
to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Ordnance Survey creates, maintains and distributes
geospatial and cartographic data and products relating to Great
Britain in the nation's interest. This paper sets out Ordnance
Survey's Public Task.
PUBLIC TASK
Ordnance Survey's Public Task is to:
— Collect and maintain uniform datasets
with national coverage forming the official record of the natural
and built environment of Great Britain, containing:
— detailed mapping of the built
and natural landscape (topography);[86]
— high resolution address data;
— transport networks (including
road, rail, waterways, tracks and paths);
— terrain and height data;
— administrative and electoral
boundary information; and
— geographical names (including
features with imprecise extents such as "Dartmoor",
"The Cotswolds", "Forest of Bowland", "South
Downs" etc).
— Provide a nationally consistent cartographic
portrayal of the topography of Great Britain at various scales
including large scales.
— Maintain a definitive three-dimensional
satellite-based geodetic[87]
reference framework of Great Britain that underpins the national
datasets and facilitates the integration and analysis of location-based
information from many sources.
— Make the content of the datasets
widely available in forms that are accessible to customers of
all types for wider benefit. This will be in the form of products
which are the direct output of those datasets. As part of its
Public Task and in order to fulfil its trading fund obligations,
Ordnance Survey will charge all customers for the licensing and
use of its products.
— Conduct its activities efficiently
and effectively to maximise the broader economic value of its
data, whilst complying with trading fund requirements.
— Ensure that its data is capable of
supporting the principles underlying the Digital National Framework
in underpinning the association and integration of third party
geospatial information.
In order to fulfil its Public Task, Ordnance
Survey is required to collect and maintain topographic data at
the following scales:
| — High Change Geographies[88]:
| 1:1250 |
| — Rural Areas[89]:
| 1:2500 |
| — National cover: | 1:10000
|
| | 1:25000 |
| | 1:50000 |
| | 1:250000 |
The above datasets are required to fulfil Ordnance Survey's
Public Task to ensure that a comprehensive, nationally consistent
version of each exists in the public interest. Annex 1A sets out:
— Ordnance Survey's datasets which fulfil its Public
Task;
— the products that are currently the direct output
of those datasets; and
— the rationale for including the various data within
the Public Task.
The minimum levels of accuracy and revision required for
those datasets are at Annex 1B.
The referencing systems and data collected and maintained
by Ordnance Survey contribute to the development and integration
of geographic and location based information collected and used
by government, business and individuals.
As the National Mapping Agency of Great Britain, Ordnance
Survey represents Great Britain overseas as experts on Survey,
Mapping and Geographic Information. It provides a focus for the
provision of public sector information into pan-European and international
collaboration by National Mapping Agencies and the European Directive
on the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE).
In discharging its Public Task, Ordnance Survey:
— Seeks to maximise both the accessibility of, and
the broader economic benefit arising from the use of the data.
It therefore creates products directly from these datasets and
makes them available, including through commercial licensing,
to government and business customers and consumers.
— Takes into account the views of customers (as
well as, inter alia, technological changes and its trading fund
requirements) to ensure that the range and content of these products
meets their changing needs, and makes changes to content, accuracy
and revision policies as may be necessary to ensure that the datasets
and products remain fit for purpose. This may result in adding
or withdrawing products from availability from time to time, as
well as enhancing content and functionality.
FUNDING
Under The Ordnance Survey Trading Fund Order 1999, Ordnance
Survey is required to fund all of its operations from its trading
revenue so that the revenue is sufficient, taking one year with
another, to meet outgoings and any further financial objectives
required by HM Treasury. The HM Treasury requirement
for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2010 is, over the period
taken as a whole, for a return on capital employed of at least
[...]
Government does not provide any direct funding by way of
grant payments for the delivery of Ordnance Survey's Public Task,
and Ordnance Survey is required to meet its financial obligations
as a trading fund from the income generated by its activities,
including its Public Task activities. Ordnance Survey may also,
but is not required to, engage in non-public task activities.
To the extent that it does so, these activities will also contribute
to Ordnance Survey's trading fund obligations.
ACCESS TO
DATA
Ordnance Survey provides access to its data and products
on a basis which first, enables it to deliver its Public Task
and second, maximises the broader economic value of the information
it holds. Data from the datasets forming the Public Task are made
available to customers at the earliest stage of production consistent
with the ability for Ordnance Survey to generate sufficient revenue
to meet its Trading Fund requirements in delivering its Public
Task. With ongoing investment in its technology infrastructure,
Ordnance Survey may, in future, be able to increase the granularity
for customers to obtain thematic subsets of the datasets within
its public task.
PRICING
Comment: This section is subject to the outcome of ongoing
discussion with OFT. At this stage it seems clear that OFT's concept
of "unrefined" and "refined" data cannot be
directly matched to the Public Task outlined above. If there is
inconsistency then the pricing model may be inconsistent with
either the OFT view or the Public Task approach outlined below.
Assuming agreement in due course there will need to be a period
of transition to the new arrangements as in either case internal
charging arrangements, new cost allocation processes and some
form of accounting separation will need to be implemented.
Those products and datasets required to deliver the Public
Task will, overall, be priced to cover the costs associated with
the datasets and products, including investment costs, a share
of corporate costs and the agreed rate of return. At the level
of individual products and datasets, differential pricing is used.
Those products which fall outside the Public Task will be
priced at market rates to at least cover the costs associated
with the creation and distribution of the datasets and products,
including investment costs, a share of corporate costs and the
agreed rate of return taken as a whole across all such datasets
and products. Where the product uses Public Task data, it will
access that data at the same price and on the same terms as any
third party.
In all cases, appropriate pricing and discount structures
will be applied to reflect the level and extent of usage.
LICENSING
This section may also be impacted by the outcome of discussions
with OFT
Ordnance Survey information is subject to Crown Copyright
and Crown database rights. Ordnance Survey has delegated authority
from the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office to manage
these Crown rights in its information on a day to day basis.
Ordnance Survey will operate a licensing system, consistent
with the foregoing paragraphs, which enables it to deliver its
Public Task and maximises the broader economic value of its data.
In operating its licensing system Ordnance Survey is committed
to the principles of the OPSI Information Fair Trader Scheme.
CHANGES TO
THE DEFINITION
OF PUBLIC
TASK
The practicalities of implementation, amendment and review
of the definition of the Ordnance Survey Public Task will be worked
out separately.
86
Topography: Including defining the surface shape and composition
of the landscape, comprising both natural and artificial features. Back
87
Geodetic: Relating to the scientific discipline that deals with
the precise measurement and representation of the earth, its gravitational
field, and other related phenomena. Within Ordnance Survey geodetic-quality
information forms the high precision framework that ensures the
correct positioning of all mapping and other data against the
National Grid. Back
88
Predominantly urban areas and areas of significant development. Back
89
Predominantly rural settlements and developed agricultural land. Back
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