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| May 2009 Edition |

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General:

1. New One Scotland Mapping Agreement on Mapping for Scotland

2. Petition to the Prime Minister to Free UK Digital Mapping
3. New Innovators Council to Reform of Public Services
4. OS Business Strategy
5. OPSI Announce New Principles for IFTS
6. £7.5m Funding to help Councils Manage Highways Assets
7. Validation for the CORE Project
8. CORE Data Matching
9. VOA Data Match
10. Fact Meets Fiction in Wincanton
11. NLPG Training Workshops
12. Gesche Schmid Joins LGA
13. Ezine Development
14. Intelligent Addressing Seeks Java Web Developer
15. Wandsworth Borough Council is Seeking a LLPG Manager

NLPG:

1. Full Re-syncs
2. FTP IP Address
3. When should I Create Properties in my LLPG?
4. Running Out of UPRNs?
5. Need help Understanding an Error Report?
6. New NLPG Regional Chair

NSG:

1. NSG Uploads
2. NSG Downloaders
3. Removal of Legacy Data converted by IA
4. EToN 5
5. Common Errors Due to New Compliance Checks with DTf7.1
Submissions
6. Health Checks and Comparison Reports
7. Conferences
8. Regional Meetings

-----[articles]-----

[General]
**1. New One Scotland Mapping Agreement on Mapping for Scotland**
A new agreement, between the Scottish Government and Ordnance
Survey, to help improve
 the use of mapping information by 72 public bodies in Scotland
was signed on 14
May by John Swinney (Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance and
Sustainable Growth)
and Iain Wright (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the
Department of Communities
and Local Government, and Ordnance Survey's Minister).

The agreement allows Scottish councils, government departments

and other public
bodies to use Ordnance Survey's mapping information for a wide
variety of purposes,
and to exchange map-based information about their work. The new
agreement makes
modest administrative cost savings and in time is expected to
bring larger cost
savings and other benefits (for instance, easier use of maps to
provide information
to the public) across Scotland's public sector.

All 72 Scottish member organisations are licensed to use the One

Scotland Gazetteer
and a three year programme is under way to migrate to the
Gazetteer from existing
addressing products.

Understandably English and Welsh councils and UK Government

bodies are interested
in seeing the details of the new deal for Scotland, and in
particular to understand
the implications for sharing NLPG/OSG data across GB.

**2. Petition to the Prime Minister to Free UK Digital Mapping**

A petition to Free UK Digital Mapping has been submitted to the
Prime Minister's
official [1]Website. At the time of going to press 192
signatures had been collected.
The petition seeks to satisfy the national interest and
consumer need for accurate,
high quality and readily available UK maps by making them freely
available, ideally
with no licensing or copyright restrictions. Thus encouraging
commercial and public
body exploitation, and ensuring efficient and widespread
utilisation of public information.

The closing date for signatures is June 4th.

A [2]petition to require Royal Mail to makes its post code data

freely available
at no charge received 22 signatures before it closed, while a
further [3] petition
 to release the address and postal code data held within the
Royal Mail's PAF has
received 178 signatures -closing date September 13th 2009.

The [4] petition to end the address dispute between local

government, Royal Mail
and Ordnance Survey which closed on September 7th 2007 received
502 signatures by
the deadline.

[1] http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FreeMaps/
[2] http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FreePostCodeData/
[3] http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/freepaf/
[4] http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/freeaddresses/#detail

**3. New Innovators Council to Reform of Public Services**

The Minister for the Cabinet Office, Liam Byrne [1] announced ,
on May 18th 2009,
a new [2]Innovators Council made up of creative thinkers from
public services,
charities and businesses to help drive public service reform.
The Council will fast-track
ideas generated by frontline staff and citizens to deliver
better and more efficient
services. The closing date for ideas is June 5th 2009.

The Council is part of a wide-reaching series of reforms led by

the Cabinet Office,
including judging departments on how well they innovate and
overhauling training
for policy makers.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne said:

"If we want Whitehall to focus on innovation, we have to change

the signals we give
at the top - and the support we give policymakers at the bottom.
And crucially we
have to showcase the kind of innovation we want to see, in a way
that keeps the
'flash-to-bang' as fast as possible.

"That's why I'm asking this panel of experts to join me in

seeking out, developing
and implementing the next generation of innovative ideas, ideas
that will allow
us to continue the reform of public services and deliver a
smaller, stronger centre
of Government that encourages innovation and allows it to
flourish."

[1]
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2009/090518
_innovators.aspx
[2] http://www.hmg.gov.uk/innovation.aspx

**4. OS Business Strategy**

The Guardian's [1]"Free Our Data Blog" has lodged [2] a request
for publication
of study used to draw up new OS strategy under the Freedom of
Information Act, on
the "WhatDotheyKnow website". A response must be received no
later than June 23rd
2009

They are, amongst others, also seeking answers and transparency

on the purported
£500 - £1bn cost to the government of following the free data
model and have invited
anyone who has had sight of the OS Study to 'drop them an
email'. The Blog has also
covers a question by Caroline Spelman requesting a list of
countries visited by
OS in 2008. See more details [3]"Free Our Data Blog"

In an [4]article in the Guardian dated May 28th 2009, Charles

Arthur says that the
OS "did not consult the South African mapping agency - a high-
profile example of
the success of the free data model - in carrying out its review
last year of alternative
funding methods."

[1] http://www.freeourdata.org.uk/blog//?p=308
[2]
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/request_for_publication_of_s
tudy
[3] http://www.freeourdata.org.uk/blog/?p=306
[4] http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/28/free-our-
data-e-government

**5. OPSI Announce New Principles for IFTS**

The Office of Public Sector Information [1](OPSI) has introduced
three new Information
Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS) principles. These are:

Maximisation - this changes the emphasis of IFTS so that

information can be re-used
unless there are strong reasons not to;
Simplicity - facilitating re-use through simple processes,
policies and licence
terms;
Innovation - where public sector organisations actively remove
obstacles to re-use
and introduce initiatives that encourage re-use.
 These principles will sit alongside existing IFTS principles of:

Transparency - being clear and up front about the terms of re-

use;
Fairness - applying terms fairly without any discrimination;
Challenge - ensuring that re-use is underpinned by a robust
complaints process.

[1] http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ifts/index

**6. £7.5m Funding to help Councils Manage Highways Assets**

Transport Minister Paul Clark announced on May 13th that an
extra £7.5m will be
awarded to English local authorities to help them manage their
roads, bridges and
other highways assets.

Fourteen councils have been successful in attracting the

funding, which will enable
them to improve their information holdings on their
streetlights, bridges, roads
and other assets, in order to manage them as effectively as
possible. Bids were
received from local authorities across England. Awards have been
made for innovative
projects and successful bidders will act as champions in their
regions allowing
other local authorities to share in the techniques used.

**7. Validation for the CORE Project**

Intelligent Addressing trialled this service for the AEA AGM,
Conference and Exhibition
in Brighton on February 8th to 11th 2009. It is aimed at local
authorities who
have finished matching their Register of Electors to the Local
Land and Property
Gazetteer (LLPG) and wish to check the validity of their work.

The service will analyse matches between your Register of

Electors (RoE) and the
National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG), and, amongst other
tests, will:
check that all UPRNs that are matched to RoE records exist in
the NLPG;
check whether any of the UPRNs relate to properties classified
as non-residential;
check whether any of the UPRNs relate to properties that are
historic or rejected;
check whether there are any UPRNs that are duplicated in the RoE
data;
check whether any of the UPRNs are located outside the local
authority area or do
 not exist in the NLPG;
check whether any of the ELR xrefs are duplicated.
Apart from giving authorities this feedback IA is interested in
the results to assess
whether there are any changes that should be considered to help
the data standardisation
process, particularly in the matching of data and the resolution
of issues. The
findings will be shared with the MoJ.

If you wish to take advantage of this free service we will

require a file containing
the Register of Electors unique reference and the NLPG UPRN that
is matched to that
unique reference. The file can also include the address elements
from the RoE as
an optional extra. Please send this file to [1]core@intelligent-
addressing.co.uk.
In return for data we will send all participating local
authorities the results
via email. If you wish to receive a full, detailed report there
will be an admin
charge of £150. If you have any queries please do not hesitate
to contact Catherine
Teare on 020 7747 3500 or email [2]core@intelligent-
addressing.co.uk.

[1] mailto:core@intelligent-addressing.co.uk
[2] mailto:core@intelligent-addressing.co.uk

**8. CORE Data Matching**

Intelligent Addressing (IA) is helping EROs in many Local
Authorities to bring their
electoral data up to the required standard. This involves a
five-stage process which:

checks data integrity

converts it to BS7666 format
matches it to the NLPG
provides a detailed report suggesting how each authority should
proceed
returns anomalies that must be resolved at the local level.

The IA Special Projects Team has now received 133 files and has
returned reports
on 130 of them using IA's combined software and manual matching
processes. Over
8 million records have been processed with an average match rate
of 97.37%. IA has
matched over half of the authorities in the Yorkshire and
Humberside Region which
has gained a match rate of 98.15%.
 Any local authorities interested in using IA for their CORE data
matching should
contact Catherine Teare on 020 7747 3500 or email
[1]core@intelligent-addressing.co.uk.

The cost should be met in its entirety through the grant that
LAs should have obtained
from the MoJ.

[1] mailto:core@intelligent-addressing.co.uk

**9. VOA Data Match**

Over two thirds of authorities have over 99% match for CTAX, and
all English Local
Authorities now have a regional CTAX average above 98% with five
over 99% (Yorkshire
and Humberside, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands and
North West).

The current match rates are 98.81% for Council Tax and 72.24%
for Non-Domestic Rates
- the highest they have ever been. There are now only 2 local
authorities with a
VOA Council Tax match of less than 90%. It is hoped that these
matched rates will
increase shortly.

Thanks to all LLPG Custodians who have taken the time and
trouble to download their
files via the NLPG FTP site and added the appropriate UPRNs.

**10. Fact Meets Fiction in Wincanton**

Fact and fiction have merged into real life on the Kingwell
Estate on the outskirts
of Wincanton, South Somerset. There is no Wisteria Avenue from
the Desperate Housewives
on Channel 4 TV but thoroughfares- Treacle Mine Road, Peach Pie
Street, Moon Pond
Lane and Morpork Street - straight from the fictional Discworld
novels of Sir Terry
Pratchett.

On April 5th Sir Terry cemented the close relationship between

Wincanton and Ankh-Morpork
- that fictional world carried by four elephants on the back of
a turtle throughout
space - by unveiling the new Street names. The towns were
twinned in 2002 and builders,
George Wimpey & Co, who put the names up for a local radio vote,
donated £1000 to
Alzheimer's research. Sir Terry was diagnosed with Alzheimer's
in late 2007. Use
 of the [1]Maps are free from OS terrestrial licence
restrictions.

George Wimpey's decision was inspired by the Discworld Emporium,

which is opposite
its Wincanton sales office.

[1] http://homepage.ntlworld.com/guiderjo/DISC007.HTM

**11. NLPG Training Workshops**

Intelligent Addressing are running a series of free training
workshops aimed at
end users in the fire, police and national parks communities.

The aim of the workshops is to determine the data requirements

of users, discuss
how the NLPG can be utilised as a solution within your
organisation and build relationships
with the different user communities. The intention is for the
workshops to be interactive,
rather than a series of presentations, together with ample
opportunity for attendees
to contribute and discuss their current and desired set-ups.

Workshops will be run for the following user groups:

National ParksJune 17th

Fire and Rescue Services June 18th and 30th - BOTH FULL
Police Authorities July 1st - FULL

Each workshop will contain users from a single user group. The
workshops will be
relatively small to enable a fruitful discussion to take place.
Attendance will
be relevant to data practitioners or decision makers with a
corporate view of data
use. Please see [1]here for more details about the workshops.

Both the NLPG usergroups for Fire Services and Police

Authorities were fully booked
within two days of opening them. If you are interested in
attending one of these
workshops at a future date, you can register your details
[2]here .

[1] http://www.iahub.net/docs/1242308669006.pdf
[2] http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?
sm=J2IAfrUZ87QFVh7Q_2bayJ2w_3d_3d

**12. Gesche Schmid Joins LGA**

 Gesche Schmid, a familiar and authoritative figure in the GI
sector has joined the
LGA on a 2 year contract. Gesche has worked previously on a
secondment basis for
the Association.

Gesche's experience includes over 17 years experience in GIS and

information management
and has worked across all sectors, first as a Lecturer in GIS at
the University
of Greenwich, followed by eight years in local government as GIS
coordinator and
later information manager at Medway Council and most recently as
principal consultant
for geospatial services in Atkins Ltd.

Gesche's new role as Function lead - GI policy, will involve

working with local
government, the IDeA, Defra and other stakeholders to coordinate
the implementation
of INSPIRE and the Location programme in Local Government and
to negotiate an affordable
and achievable solution for local government together with Defra
and other stakeholders
where possible. As part of her work, Gesche aims to raise the
understanding and
use of location-based data in policy and local service delivery.

**13. Ezine Development**

Over the last four years we have been producing the Ezine in the
current format.
We have established three clear sections providing general
news, which we hope
is of interest to the wide and diverse readership and also
provided the two more
targeted sections directed at those organisations more closely
interested in issues
relevant to the development and running of the NLPG and the NSG.
We have tried
to keep the length of stories/articles short and thus, we hope,
provide an easy
reference point to issues affecting the "industry" as a whole,
with links to more
in-depth reports, websites, blogs, news and opinion pieces.

We have run job advertisements, for free, for LLPG and LSG
Custodians and also other
GIS Vacancies for Local Authorities. The target distribution
dates, with a few exceptions,
have been the last working Friday of each calendar month. We
have maintained this
format and frequency in the belief that it meets the general
requirements of our
diverse readership and supported by the increase in the number
of individuals requesting
to be on the distribution list.

If you have ideas on what you would like us to run, or have

comments on what you
would like us to provide, then please email us at
[1]ezine@intelligent-addressing.co.uk
and we shall try to work these into future editions. Its your
chance to influence
us, whether you want interactive comment sections, as in online
newspapers; a magazine
format; less or more frequent distribution; run a wider and more
diverse jobs section
etc. Please let us have your comments.

[1] mailto:ezine@intelligent-addressing.co.uk

**14. Intelligent Addressing Seeks Java Web Developer**

This position is initially on contract for 6 months with
potential for a permanent
position.

Main tasks include the development of web-based Java

applications and services,
adherence to software development standards and the preparation
of technical design
and testing plans. Suitable candidates will have a good
combination of technical
education and knowledge. We are looking for a candidate with
strong business communication
skills, an enthusiastic but professional attitude and an
interest in web mapping
and public sector geographic information.

The deadline for applications is June 8th 2009. Please reply to:
[1]jobs@iaddressing.co.uk,
or see [2]Java Web Developer for further information.

[1] mailto:jobs@iaddressing.co.uk
[2] http://www.intelligent-addressing.co.uk/iaweb/link.htm?id=2003

**15. Wandsworth Borough Council is Seeking a LLPG Manager**

Wandsworth Council has a wide GIS user base and the LLPG
database forms a key role
in that service delivery. Users rely on being able to identify
addresses and properties
created by the LLPG team.

We are looking for an experienced Local Land and Property

Gazetteer professional
(salary £34,707 - £37,476, 36 Hours) to lead the Gazetteer Team
of 3 people. You
will ensure that data quality is maintained to a high standard
in the LLPG and other
linked data. You will be proactive in promoting the service,
further enhancing the
availability of LLPG data and streamlining the maintenance
programme.

You will also need a knowledge of GIS software and other related
information technology.

As you will be working with a range of colleagues across the

Council you will need
to have effective communication skills, along with
organisational skills to meet
tight deadlines.

For an informal discussion about the post please contact Eric

Hermans, GIS Manager
on 020 8871 6648. You can view the job details and apply online
at [1]www.wandsworth.gov.uk.

A recruitment pack can also be obtained by contacting Technical

Services Department,
Personnel Section on 020 8871 6701 (24 hour answerphone) or
emailing [2]dtsjobs@wandsworth.gov.uk.

Please quote reference: T8240. Closing date for receipt of

applications: 15 June
2009

Please note that we do not accept CVs.

[1] http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk
[2] mailto:dtsjobs@wandsworth.gov.uk

[NLPG]
**1. Full Re-syncs**
There are a number of Authorities who commenced the LLPG Full
Re-synchronisation
process in the last MSA year (2007-2008) but were unable to
submit a data file that
passed validation. If you are one of the Authorities that falls
in this category
and are not able to complete this process by the end of June
2009 we intend to close
these outstanding jobs. After this period, should you need to
undertake the full
resynchronisation process, then you will need to contact the
helpdesk and complete
a new order form.
 Several authorities have informed us that they plan to carry out
a Full Re-sync
prior to their CORE matching over the next few months. Please
remember that the
re-sync process can only be completed subject to your LLPG file
being error free.
In some cases a number of iterations of file submission,
validation and error correction
may need to occur to pass the validation process; this can take
a number of weeks.
We recommend that any authorities in this position allow plenty
time to complete
the re-sync to ensure that the CORE matching project can remain
on track.

We would also like to thank those authorities for their patience

whilst their LLPG
Full Export files were queued at the NLPG for processing over
the last 2 months.
The vast majority of the full years' full re-sync requests came
in the last two
months of the last financial year - about 70 - and coincided
with a local government
review and the creation of 9 new English Unitary councils whose
gazetteers also
needed to be integrated within the NLPG and NSG at the same
time. We are pleased
to report that the turnaround times for completing the post
validation process has
now started to return to normal levels.

**2. FTP IP Address**

Notice: On Friday 22nd May our old IP address (195.171.101.179)
was successfully
turned off; our current IP address is 195.171.25.164. If you
experience problems
accessing either the NLPG FTP site or the NSG FTP site please
contact the helpdesk
([1]helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk or 020 7747 3502).

[1] mailto:helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk

**3. When should I Create Properties in my LLPG?**

There has been some confusion as to when streets and properties
should be entered
into the LLPG. Ideally, and according to best practice, new
property details should
be entered in to the LLPG at the earliest opportunity, which can
be before the street
naming and numbering stage (as 'plots' to a development). This
information can be
 entered with a provisional status until the property has been
built and the street
name and proper number 'approved' by the custodian, recording
the development and
property life cycle. This is of particular use to service
providers and internal
authority departments. More information and guidance about
property creation and
property development and naming schemes is available from the
published [1]NLPG
Data Entry Conventions (see page 28).

[1] http://www.iahub.net/docs/1184161851899.pdf

**4. Running Out of UPRNs?**

UPRN ranges are available to creating authorities - Please
contact the helpdesk
to request a new UPRN range as soon as possible
([1]helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk
or 020 7747 3502). Whilst we endeavour to return a new range to
you on the day of
request, this is not always possible. It is useful to check your
ranges when you
are working on large development projects, as you do not want to
run out half way
through!

[1] mailto:helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk

**5. Need help Understanding an Error Report?**

The helpdesk ([1]helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk or 020
7747 3502) is available
from 09.00 to 17.30 every working day, for all signatories of
the MSA. We are here
to help, so please call us if you need help understanding any
reports generated.

[1] mailto:helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk

**6. New NLPG Regional Chair**

Marie Lilley, ALO, LLPG, LSG Custodian, and SNN Officer for Bury
Metropolitan Borough
has been appointed as the North West's Regional Chair to replace
Dave Heyes.

[NSG]
**1. NSG Uploads**
In the first official month of DTF7.1 submission 71 Authorities
managed to successful
pass validation. Thank you for all you hard work. This month has
continued to see
submissions rise. We understand that almost all software
companies have released
upgrades to allow submission in the new DTF7.1 Format. We
obviously encourage everybody
to update their software at the earliest convenience to allow
submission of DTF7.1.
If you are still having problems or would like any assistance
please contact [1]helpdesk@thensg.org.uk.

[1] mailto:helpdesk@thensg.org.uk

**2. NSG Downloaders**

We are seeing an increased number of utilities and MSA
downloaders using the data
each month. It is now possible to download data in both DTF7.1
and NSG CSV formats.
(NSG CSV available until April 1st 2010) and already we are
seeing a take up of
the new DTF7.1 files, which is great news.

There have however been a few comments about historic and legacy
data in the system.
We encourage all Authorities to see what data is being published
for their authority
and make sure you are aware of what data downloaders are seeing.
Any authority with
historic data published should urgently make a LSG submission to
the hub. For help
with this please contact [1]helpdesk@thensg.org.uk.

[1] mailto:helpdesk@thensg.org.uk

**3. Removal of Legacy Data converted by IA**

All legacy DTF7.1. data that was converted from NSG CSV for the
April 2009 Publication,
will be removed in July (3 months after the changeover
publication). The reason
for this is that this data does not fully meet the new DTF7.1
compliance checks
and was only intended to be published as an interim solution to
help those Authorities
that were not able to upgrade their systems in March.

June's publication will be the last month that this data will be
published. This
means the publication on 2 July 2009 will not contain the DTF7.1
data that was "converted
by IA". (NB. The NSG CSV data will currently still remain
published as legacy data.)

If you have any concerns about this, please in the first

instance contact your Regional
 Chair and/or contact [1]helpdesk@thensg.org.uk.

[1] mailto:helpdesk@thensg.org.uk

**4. EToN 5**

150 Authorities are now publishing EToN v5 files. We would like
to remind the remainder
of Authorities that are still EToN v4 or earlier, that the
change over data to use
for EToN v5 files was January 13th 2009. We encourage all
Authorities to update
their OD files as soon as possible. OD files should be checked
with current data.
If you are unable to submit current data but would like to
publish a new version
of the EToN file the NSG hub can do this under exceptional
circumstances. In the
first instance please contact [1]helpdesk@thensg.org.uk for
assistance.

[1] mailto:helpdesk@thensg.org.uk

**5. Common Errors Due to New Compliance Checks with DTf7.1

Submissions**
We would like to highlight some of the key changes in the DTF7.1
for your help in
resolving any issues

Type 15 record mandatory

Town name mandatory for Type 1 and 2 streets
Locality and Towns cannot be the same
If a locality is included then there must be town name
Language field mandatory
Welsh Authorities now have two records distinct records in Type
15 (ENG and CYM)
Latest versions only - always set to 1 (ESUs and Streets)
Type 1 and 2 streets cannot be cross referenced to other Type 1
and 2 streets
Type 3 streets cannot be cross referenced to other type 3
streets
Record types for ASD have changed
61 (Mandatory),
62 (Mandatory),
63 (optional),
64(optional),
65(optional)
Whole road interest records.
Cannot have two interest record 1 on the same whole road
New checks on whole road and part road records to prevent
duplication of notices
All roads should have an interest record of 1 or be in the
"Exceptions list"
whole road/part road comparisons have been introduced on special
designations to
help prevent duplication
Co-ordinates in all records are padded to 2 decimal places

**6. Health Checks and Comparison Reports**

The generation of Health Checks and comparison reports has been
temporarily suspended.
The Health Checks are currently being rewritten and we are
looking to reintroduce
them next month. If you have ideas for Health Checks please
contact your Regional
Chair in the first instance.

**7. Conferences**
The NSG was recently represented at the HSC09 event in Cardiff.
This was a very
successful event and we would like to thank everybody who came
to discuss issues
and problems. The NSG team will be attending a number of events
and conferences
over the year. We will tell you where we will be so you can come
an meet us to discuss
your LSG issues. If you would like NSG attendance at any events
please contact the
NSG team and we will endeavour to send a representative.

**8. Regional Meetings**

Wales June 22nd 2009
North West July 1st 2009

For more information on Regional Meetings please contact your

Regional Chair.