October 2024

Open address data published by Leeds City Council shows the way to a national open address file

Whatever happened to the UK Government's Open Address Register programme?


August 2024

FOI release: Royal Mail's view on a House of Lords proposal for open address data in the UK

FOI release: discussion paper on Measuring Impact of the Geospatial Commission


July 2024

Net change in housing stock counts in England and Wales since 2010 (updated data visualisation)

New build homes in England and Wales since 2000 (updated data visualisation)

Further IDeA Board meeting papers released following FOI request, with redactions


June 2024

FOI release: historical agreements on ownership of LandIS soil map data for England and Wales


May 2024

Output Area counts for licensed vehicles in the UK at the end of 2023 released by DfT following FOI request


March 2024

Open addresses in the House of Lords – what happened?

Nottingham Trees (updated data visualisation)

17,455 Energy Performance Certificates for properties in England and Wales are withheld from public access

FOI release: new LandIS agreement between Defra and Cranfield University


February 2024

FOI release: school-level data on ethnicity of pupils at state-funded primary and secondary schools in England 2006/07 to 2022/23


January 2024

Home Office letter to Meta on end-to-end encryption released following FOI request


November 2023

Energy efficiency of housing in Parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales, 2023

Energy efficiency of housing in Parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales, 2023 (data table)

Nottingham Trees (updated data visualisation)

Joint Inspection Team funding agreement and indemnity released following FOI request


September 2023

IDeA Board meeting papers released following FOI request, with redactions

FOI/EIR release: detailed data on the status of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in England


July 2023

Restrictive licensing of images from the Government Art Collection costs the public purse more money than it brings in – why not try an open data approach instead?

Output Area counts for licensed vehicles in the UK at the end of 2022 released by DfT following FOI request

Large Raised Reservoirs (updated data visualisation)


June 2023

Thoughts on campaigning for open address data in the UK

IDeA Board meeting papers released following FOI request, heavily redacted

Net change in housing stock counts in England and Wales since 2010 (updated data visualisation)

New build homes in England and Wales since 2000 (updated data visualisation)


May 2023

ICO decision confirms Open Government Licence is insufficient for open re-use of Energy Performance of Buildings data

Nottingham Trees (updated data visualisation)

Missing ICO decision notices?


April 2023

Time series of insolvencies in Parliamentary constituencies (updated data visualisation)

Time series of insolvencies in local authority areas (updated data visualisation)


March 2023

FOI/EIRs release: information from the Environment Agency's FCRM Engagement metrics database


January 2023

FOI release: Government analysis of responses to 2016 consultation on strengthening the Local Government Transparency Code


December 2022

Large Raised Reservoirs managed and controlled by water companies (updated data visualisation)

Large Raised Reservoirs (updated data visualisation)

Output Area counts for licensed vehicles in the UK released by DfT following ICO decision notice


November 2022

Energy efficiency of housing in Parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales, 2022

Energy efficiency of housing in Parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales, 2022 (data table)


September 2022

92% of domestic Energy Performance Certificates have been matched to UPRNs


August 2022

Data discovery: sources of open LiDAR data for the UK

Large Raised Reservoirs managed and controlled by water companies (data visualisation)

Nottingham Trees (updated data visualisation)


July 2022

2021/22 DSP Toolkit status of UTLAs in England (data visualisation)

Time series of Census age distributions in local authority areas (data visualisation)


May 2022

Net change in housing stock counts in England and Wales since 2010 (updated data visualisation)

New build homes in England and Wales since 2000 (updated data visualisation)


April 2022

Only 6 of the 45 research outputs on the Scottish Government's Natural Asset Register Data Portal are open data

ICO advice on the status of EPCs as personal data

Time series of insolvencies in Parliamentary constituencies (updated data visualisation)

Time series of insolvencies in local authority areas (updated data visualisation)


March 2022

Errors in allocation of UPRNs to Energy Performance Certificates

Small area counts for licensed vehicles in the UK released by DfT/DVLA under FOI

Nottingham Trees (updated data visualisation)

92% of domestic Energy Performance Certificates have been matched to UPRNs

Are EPCs for housing in England and Wales open data, or personal data, or what?


December 2021

Large Raised Reservoirs (updated data visualisation)


November 2021

Time series of insolvencies in Parliamentary constituencies (updated data visualisation)


October 2021

Information Tribunal confirms the Environment Agency can withhold geospatial data on flood risk from reservoirs

Accidents involving e-scooters in Great Britain in 2020 (data visualisation)

Net change in housing stock counts in England and Wales since 2010 (data visualisation)

New build homes in England and Wales since 2000 (updated data visualisation)


September 2021

Time series of insolvencies in local authority areas (updated data visualisation)


August 2021

Nottingham Trees (data visualisation)


June 2021

UK address data: a primer and bibliography (updated)

Greggs vs Pret (data visualisation)


May 2021

Participation in the 2019 UK general election (data visualisation)


April 2021

National Protocol for the Handling, Transmission and Storage of Reservoir Information and Flood Maps

How to vectorise the Environment Agency's Reservoir Flood Map Outline data


January 2021

Locations of Large Raised Reservoirs in Wales also released as open data


December 2020

Locations of Large Raised Reservoirs in England released as open data

Large Raised Reservoirs (data visualisation)


November 2020

ICO: the Environment Agency must release locations of Large Raised Reservoirs as open data


October 2020

New build homes in England and Wales since 2000 (data visualisation)


July 2020

ICO: the Department for Education can withhold the list of academy schools covered by the Risk Protection Arrangement


May 2020

Will Land Registry release the INSPIRE Index Polygons as open data or not?

Opening up OS MasterMap: are we any closer to open data on property extents?


January 2020

How serious is the Department for Education's gambling industry data breach?


November 2019

Time series of insolvencies in Parliamentary constituencies (data visualisation)

The 77m Ltd case: Ordnance Survey defends its address data monopoly in the High Court


October 2019

Open data sites maintained by UK local authorities

Compare age distributions in Parliamentary constituencies (data visualisation)

Experimental Urban Extents polygons for natural capital accounts


August 2019

Time series of insolvencies in local authority areas (data visualisation)


July 2019

Time series of age distributions in local authority areas (data visualisation)

Compare age distributions in local authority areas (data visualisation)


June 2019

School sites in England on historic landfill (data visualisation)

Turnout and postal voting in the 2017 General Election

Why isn't the national soil map open data?

Bat roost locations in Leaflet (data visualisation)


May 2019

Small area population estimates in Leaflet (data visualisation)

Noise pollution – where are Defra's new strategic noise maps for England?

Environment Agency data is not as discoverable as it used to be


April 2019

Why don't we have proper official statistics for public libraries in England?


February 2019

Housing age of major towns and cities in England and Wales

Can open data reduce demand for Freedom of Information?


December 2018

RNLI's "open data" isn't so open


November 2018

Openwashing in open data: some recent examples


October 2018

Response to the Geospatial Commission's call for evidence on a National Geospatial Strategy

List of academy schools covered by DfE's Risk Protection Arrangement


September 2018

How credible is the Open Data Barometer's dataset survey?

The 'golden thread' – why do we have so many property identifiers?

Open data archaeology

UK address data: a primer and bibliography

Open data: a pre-release checklist


August 2018

Is there copyright in biological records?


July 2018

Can we make biodiversity data more open?


June 2018

BCG awarded more than £2.2m in consultancy contracts for Geospatial Commission work

Points from this week's AGI webinar on "Open" MasterMap

Questions for the Geospatial Commission about "Open" MasterMap

Something is happening with MasterMap

Unlocked: spatial data for historic landfill sites in England

Re-use of open data under GDPR

What's happening with MasterMap and the Geospatial Commission?


April 2018

NHS Digital: still not open

New Data.gov.uk, same as the old Data.gov.uk

Water Marks GB – a higher-resolution open data source for Britain's coastline


March 2018

How "canonical" is DWP's Jobcentre register?


February 2018

BCG awarded £554k contract for consultancy support prior to announcement of Geospatial Commission


January 2018

What can we expect from Land Registry's new "open approach" to data?


December 2017

Some tiresome questions about the Planning Inspectorate Appeals Dataset …

Privacy Impact Assessment: Land Registry's Commercial and Corporate Ownership Data and Overseas Companies Ownership Data


November 2017

Why I'm cautiously optimistic about this week's Geospatial Commission announcement


October 2017

Open data horror stories: notes for an #ODCamp pitch/session

Updated map of UK local government open data resources


July 2017

NHS Digital's terms and conditions: not the Open Government Licence

Open data cannot be "all rights reserved" …

Unlocking VOA's local reference rent (LRR) tables

INSPIRE Index Polygons – issue and workaround

The Global Open Data Index 2016: identifying room for improvement in UK open data


June 2017

Results of the UK General Election on 8 June 2017: some open data resources


May 2017

OS Open Data statistics released by Ordnance Survey

MPs want the Government to stop publishing yearly cohort level data in primary school performance tables


April 2017

ICO: Land Registry's Price Paid Data is personal data.

Waste data: Environment Agency's "journey to open" has come to a grinding halt.


March 2017

Majority of electors in England and Wales now opt out of the open register

List of Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) member schools released as open data

Data on expenditure by Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) isn't open


February 2017

Open banking: how not to write an open data licence

Public Land for Housing


January 2017

UK open data: is anyone using it then?


December 2016

Hiding from Google: open data, data discovery and robots.txt

Profiling the age of housing stock in England and Wales


October 2016

Household projections for local authorities in England: now unlocked as open data


September 2016

Councils have mapped the risk of flash flooding – why isn't this open data yet?

How to fix Data.gov.uk (or at least make it suck less for users)


July 2016

Comments for Guardian article on what Brexit means for UK open data

DCLG should release the Local Authority Housing Assets dataset as open data.


June 2016

OpenDefra: 8,000+ open datasets released in one year

Signposting open data: discovery guides and other bright ideas


March 2016

Energy performance of buildings (EPB) data – some questions about DCLG's upcoming "open data" release

UK open data: some things that happened (and a few that didn't) in 2015


February 2016

What is open data, again?

Household Projections detailed data – not open (and DCLG isn't sure why)

Open data review: FCO's Country Register

MPs' Register of Financial Interests – full dataset as open data


January 2016

Post Office branch locations – now with geocodes and constituencies (suitable for mapping!)

NHS England submission to FOI Commission

Open data images


December 2015

2015 Global Open Data Index – United Kingdom


November 2015

UK insurers (and Flood Re) must be open about their use of flood risk data

No more fast track access to the National Pupil Database?


October 2015

Open by default: Environment Agency is halfway there …

Environment Agency LiDAR: more links and resources

Has Cabinet Office really opened up 20,000 Government datasets over the past five years?

Open data release of aerial LiDAR data for England: links and resources

Unlocking open data: can we fix the Data.gov.uk request process?


September 2015

Do we need a better open data tool for UK political donations?


July 2015

"No linking" policies are still a thing on UK websites

Open Defra will have eight themes

Where is all the open data for waste management?

Cabinet Office and the Register of Charities: my #FOI adventure


June 2015

Open Defra: what is it, and what do we know so far?


April 2015

Comments for Guardian article on appointment of Mike Bracken as UK's Chief Data Officer


March 2015

Statistics on take-up of Environment Agency's Floodline Warnings Direct service

How to Publish Open Public Data (in the UK)


February 2015

Does open data need a licence?

New Environment Agency open data: Water Resource Availability in England

Fracking maps and open data


January 2015

How suitable is Environment Agency's flood data for identifying individual properties at risk?

How many primary schools in England are over capacity?

Environment Agency flood risk open data: some apps and info

It was all a dream: Land Registry's Price Paid dataset isn't really open data after all.


December 2014

Risk of Flooding from Rivers and the Sea (RoFRS) - new Environment Agency open data release

Comments for City Metric article on civic open data

Autumn Statement 2014 - Open Data and Data Sharing

Environment Agency National Dataset List


November 2014

How far can we trust open data?

Environment Agency Open Data: Issues and Priorities

Lords' Register of Interests – full dataset as open data


October 2014

Green Belt boundaries for England have been released as open data

UK Government consultation on transposition of the new PSI Directive

Ordnance Survey Open Data: Back to the well …


September 2014

The UK National Information Infrastructure: It's time for the private sector to release some open data too.


August 2014

Latest Environment Agency open data releases


July 2014

ODUG benefits case for open data release of an authoritative GP dataset

New open data releases announced by the Public Data Group

Who supports the privatisation of Land Registry? Mainly corporates.

Open spending data: the four least transparent councils in England


June 2014

New Environment Agency open data releases


May 2014

FOI request to Cabinet Office re open data and the register of charities

Unlocking Environment Agency flood data: a progress report

Broken links on Data.gov.uk

Electoral Register data breaches: how wide is the problem?


March 2014

UK statistics and open data: MPs' inquiry report published

Primary sources of bulk address data for GP practices in the UK

Flood Warning Data Integrity Guide


January 2014

Unraveling the UK Government's funding strategy for open data

Land Registry and the privatisation threat to open data

UK floods and the case for opening up Environment Agency flood data

#Floodhack and opening up Environment Agency flood data

Mapping the Environment Agency's flood risk management maintenance programme with open data

How open is the Cabinet Office's open data funding programme?

Storify: support for open release of Environment Agency flood data

School Catchment Areas as Open Data


December 2013

Environment Agency information about hazardous landfill sites: still some questions

That's not how the OGL works …

The ONS Postcode Directory: Open Data, but Which Licence?

Evaluating the UK National Information Infrastructure


November 2013

Buckinghamshire has released Public Rights of Way mapping as open data -- but many councils still refuse

Royal Mail privatisation closes the door to Freedom of Information requests


October 2013

Feedback on recent design changes to Data.gov.uk

Has the Environment Agency removed information on the type of waste received at landfill sites?


September 2013

Charged Licence for re-use of public sector information released by UK National Archives

I've discovered Defra's hidden stash of CAP Payments data …

North Yorkshire Public Rights of Way Data and Section 21 of FOI

The Defra Network Transparency Panel: Open Data and a Transparency Vision

Written Evidence to PASC Inquiry on Statistics and Open Data


August 2013

OS OpenData Economic Value Study Released Under FOI

Public Sector Transparency Board – June 2013 Meeting

Social Mobility Transparency Board: terms of reference and list of members


July 2013

MOJ's new Code of Practice (Datasets) is hostile to open data

The Cabinet Office needs to mend fences with the charitable sector on open data and transparency

Exploiting the National Pupil Database – Consultation Responses


June 2013

Information Economy Strategy Consultation: Comments on Open Data

Information Economy Strategy – All Consultation Responses


May 2013

The cost of unlocking economic potential from core reference data

Green Belt Boundaries for England – Still Not Open Data

UK Open Data: An Institutional Timeline

Full responses to the draft Code of Practice (Datasets) consultation

Land Registry to release Price Paid Data under Open Government Licence


April 2013

Maggie Thatcher is unpopular in Liverpool

Shakespeare Review into Public Sector Information: Draft Recommendations


March 2013

Royal Mail cancels Pinpoint positional data capture project

Ofcom's Postcode Address File consultation – update


February 2013

Free school applications – Department for Education FOI responses

Ofcom's Postcode Address File consultation – key figures redacted


January 2013

Open Data or Not? A hard look at the Scottish Data Zone Boundaries licence

Draft Code of Practice (Datasets): Comments


December 2012

Open Data User Group initial recommendations to Data Strategy Board


October 2012

Scottish Parliament MSP Allowances: 2011-2012 Bulk Data

Whatever happened to Information Asset Registers?

Areas for improvement in available flood data for England and Wales (Adaptation Sub-Committee report)


September 2012

Ten awesome open data resources (missing from Data.gov.uk)


August 2012

Public Rights of Way in England and Wales: more progress needed on open data release of national vector mapping


June 2012

Freedom of Information and Charging for Public Sector Data


May 2012

Further information on Royal Mail's Positional Data Capture project


April 2012

Inventory of Closed Mining Waste Facilities on a map


March 2012

Land Registry Price Paid information on a map

Land Registry releases one month of Price Paid information as open data – and tries to hide the licensing costs of the full dataset

On the importance of promoting open data to local government

Royal Mail's Positional Data Capture project: competition for NAG and AddressBase?

Descoped: Land Registry to release only tiny fraction of Price Paid information as open data


February 2012

FOIA and the Protection of Freedoms Bill: An Enhanced 'Right to Data' or Just a 'Right to Buy Data'?


January 2012

Public-Private Partnership Policing in the UK

The ABI's Bold New Paradigm for Flood Insurance: A "Free Market With a Support Model Financed Through General Taxation"

Reservoir Inundation Maps: National Security vs Public Information

Flood Insurance and the Housing Market Apocalypse

Green Belt Boundaries for England – Open or Closed Data?

Postcodes in Polygon: A Thing I Made