Data.gov.uk contains more than 2500 sets of data from across government – including lists of schools, details about traffic volumes on trunk roads and even a census of every farm in England. All of the data is non-personal and in a format that can be reused by any individual or business to create innovative new software tools, such as applications about house prices, local amenities and services, or access to local hospitals.
Stephen Timms, Minister for Digital Britain, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web and Professor Nigel Shadbolt from the University of Southampton, worked together to launch the website which they said would create major new opportunities for business and also increase accountability and transparency. They all agreed that the launch marked an important step in making sure Government data is a public resource, which can be used to help unlock new ideas for delivering public services.
In the run-up to the public launch, 2400 registered developers were given access to a preview version of the site, so they could offer feedback and start experimenting with the data.
Some of the applications they developed in the preview stage include a video which shows traffic flows and congestion on the motorway network and a ‘School Finder’ website which enables parents to search for schools by location and Ofsted report.
To see the site for yourself go to: http://data.gov.uk
And if you want to read about the story behind data.gov.uk, the blogs from the Cabinet Office team can be found at: http://blogs.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/digitalengagement/
