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Ordnance Survey – Great Britain's national mapping agency

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Overview

As a government department and Executive Agency, Ordnance Survey is responsible for the official, definitive surveying and topographic mapping of Great Britain. As the importance of geographic information increases, Ordnance Survey is also responsible for maintaining consistent national coverage of other nationally important geospatial datasets. This work is undertaken under the terms of the Ordnance Survey Framework Document 2004 to benefit of the nation and its citizens. All of the published information resulting from these activities is available to users in government and business and to consumers and the citizen.

We aim to satisfy the national interest and customer need for accurate and readily available geospatial data and maps for the whole of Great Britain in the most effective and efficient way (data and maps of Northern Ireland are provided by Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (now called Land & Property Services)). Ordnance Survey and its partners seek to be the content provider of choice for location‑based information in the new information economy by:

  • Collecting, portraying and distributing the definitive record of the natural, built and planned environment of Great Britain, meeting customer need and the national interest in the most effective manner.

Ordnance Survey is required by the Ordnance Survey Trading Fund Order 1999 (SI 99/965) to recover all of the costs of collecting, maintaining and disseminating data to users, together with funds for investments, and to meet financial obligations to HM Treasury.

All Ordnance Survey material is subject to Crown copyright. Ordnance Survey earns revenue to meet its financial obligations by licensing intellectual property rights in its data, maps and information, under Crown copyright (and database right and trademarks) through delegated authority from the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, which is part of the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI). Ordnance Survey’s trading activities are also subject to the following non-exhaustive list of legislation and regulations: 

Ordnance Survey is committed to complying with their various provisions, and you can find more information about these topics and about our policies towards them by clicking on the highlighted text links or by using the quick links section to the left.

Ordnance Survey also recognises the role of:

  • The Information Commissioner in matters related to Data Protection and Freedom of Information, and is committed to following his advice and guidance.
  • The Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information in matters related to reuse of public information, and is committed to following its advice and guidance.

The office of the Information Commissioner 

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)  is a non-departmental public body acting as an independent regulator funded by the Ministry of Justice, advising government, the private sector and general public on all matters related to data protection and freedom of information. It has powers to take legally binding action against any entity that breaches both the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act. It also acts as an appeal body on behalf of applicants who feel they have not rightly been provided information requested under either legislation. Whilst their decision in an appeal is binding, under the Freedom of Information Act the ICO’s decision may be appealed to the Information Tribunal.

The Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information (APPSI)

The Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information is a non-departmental public body, established under the auspices of the Cabinet Office. APPSI advises Ministers on opportunities for greater reuse of public-sector information. It advises the Office of Public Sector Information and HMSO on the alignment of the licensing of Crown copyright and public-sector information with current and emerging information developments, and it reviews and considers complaints under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 and advises on the impact of the complaints procedures under those regulations.

 

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