+---------------------+

| August 2008 Edition |

+---------------------+

General:

1. IA takes UK's Leading Role in European Address Harmonisation

Project</b>
2. NLPG NSG Annual Conference - Underpinning Transformational
Government
3. Closing Date for Exemplar Awards
4. Closing Date for Submission of Photos
5. CORE
6. Public Sector Information Debate
7. Unlocking the Potential of PSI Conference
8. Govt. Body Wants Antiquated Census Scrapped
9. NLGN Launches Multi Area Agreement Forum
10. Interactive Local Crime Maps
11. Intelligent Addressing Events
12. Local Land Charges - Best Practice for Local Authorities
13. Vacancy for Corporate GIS Administrator at Hart DC
14. Thurrock is Seeking a LLPG/LSG Custodian

NLPG:

1. FTP Username and Password Changes

2. DTF7.3
3. NLPG Health Check Exceptions
4. NLPG Appointments
5. NLPG Training 2008
6. New LLPG Regional Chair for the South West
7. Upcoming NLPG Events

NSG:

1. MSA Organisations and Downloading the NSG

2. NSG Usernames and Passwords
3. NSG Golf
4. NSG Expands Team
5. Up and Coming NSG Events

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

[General]
**1. IA takes UK's Leading Role in European Address Harmonisation
Project</b>**
Intelligent Addressing is taking a leading role as Britain's
sole representative
in the EURADIN (EURopean ADdresses INfrastructure) project. The
EURADIN project,
which runs over two years, aims to contribute to the
harmonisation of European addresses,
propose solutions for interoperability and access, facilitating
the creation of
new value added products and services across Europe. The results
of the project
will be used as a reference for all European member states to
fulfil their obligations
under the INPSIRE directive. From 2009 any new address datasets
across Europe will
have to accommodate the agreed data structure and any existing
datasets by 2016.
See [1]Press Release for full story.

[1] http://www.iahub.net/docs/1219998636240.pdf

**2. NLPG NSG Annual Conference - Underpinning Transformational

Government**
The presentation of the Awards will take place at the
'Underpinning Transformational
Government' conference on October 16th 2008 at the ICC in
Birmingham. The morning
session of the conference has a strategic focus with
presentations from senior Local
Government Transformation experts. The 2008 NLPG and NSG
Exemplar Awards will be
presented before lunch.

After lunch, the conference will split into two streams.

Presentations will include
papers on:
&loz; innovation and successful projects in areas such as
transformation;
&loz; partnership working;
&loz; integration of the gazetteers with other corporate
datasets and systems;
&loz; the role of the NLPG in CORE;
&loz; use of the gazetteers to ensure timely response by the
emergency services;
&loz; implications for the utilities;
&loz; and readiness for Traffic Management Act (TMA) and
Streetworks Registers.
We have already had over 120 registrations for places, so please
do register [1]here
to be sure of a place. The event is free of charge for all local
authorities, police
and fire authorities that are signed up to the Mapping Services
Agreement.

Running alongside the conference is an exhibition with suppliers

whose key target
markets include local government and the emergency services.
 All attendees are also invited to a drinks reception at the Slug
and Lettuce from
8pm on the evening before the conference. See [2]here for
further information about
the conference, exhibition and drinks reception.

[1] http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?
sm=9ziRjNjA_2b58oO7ZqcC5gRw_3d_3d
[2] http://www.nlpg.org.uk/nlpg/link.htm?id=2022

**3. Closing Date for Exemplar Awards**

There are only a few days left to get your Exemplar Award
entries in! The closing
date is Wednesday September 3rd 2008.

As well as receiving certificates, the winners and runners-up

will have their work
written up into a booklet widely distributed throughout the LA
community. Last
year's booklet can be seen [1] here.
Local Government IT in Use will also present a special feature
on the Awards winners
in its November/December issue. Award winners will also receive
exposure in other
local government and GIS publications, helping to increase the
profile of the Gazetteer
work within their Authority.

Tracy King from Suffolk Coastal who was highly commended in the
'Best Business Process
Transformation' category said, "An NLPG Exemplar Award has
helped the Property Information
Team raise awareness of the good work it has done to date; it
has also helped us
to encourage support for the future developments and
improvements we hope to make".
Whilst Barry Foster from Plymouth, the winner of that category
stated, "We are
delighted that Plymouth City Council has won this national
award. It is a tangible
recognition which the staff who have contributed to our service
delivery improvement
can associate themselves with".

Details of the awards can be found at [2]brochure and [3]entry

form and can also
be downloaded from the [4]NLPG and [5]NSG websites.

[1] http://www.iahub.net/docs/1202827550480.pdf
[2] http://www.iahub.net/docs/1214326110057.pdf
[3] http://www.iahub.net/docs/1214393428453.doc
[4] http://www.nlpg.org.uk
[5] http://www.thensg.org.uk

**4. Closing Date for Submission of Photos**

You may have seen in the July eZine a request for out of the
ordinary and unusual
buildings/property/streets that would make an interesting
display at the Awards.
The subject submitted would need to have a UPRN or USRN attached
to it and could
be submitted on the basis of being an unusual or historic
structure, being in a
remote or difficult to access area, or having a peculiar
function.

If you have an image of somewhere/something in your authority

that would meet these
criteria, please email the photo, plus the UPRN/USRN to
[1]ggander@intelligent-addressing.co.uk.
The 12 best images will be incorporated into a calendar for 2009
which will be sent
out to all local authorities during December. Closing date for
entries is September
12th 2008.

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

**5. CORE**
IA is receiving a steady flow of CORE data as Authorities get to
grips with the
task of meeting the MoJ's December 2009 target. At the time of
going to press
almost 50 Authorities had sent or scheduled data for processing.
While this is
encouraging, the message is still very much "act now" to assess
the position rather
than leave it until later. A 96.6% average match rate still
leaves much to be
achieved and potentially a time consuming exercise sorting out
the "anomalies".

IA is currently taking ERs and submitting detailed Reports back

to authorities,
who then, knowing the problem before them, are planning with
confidence to resolve
the unmatched records and then maintain 100% UPRN inclusion.

The Ministry of Justice has published case studies on its

[1]website illustrating
the experiences of three authorities that have started the
exercise and has undertaken
to publish other case studies as they receive them.

A copy of the Grant Allocation Request Form can be found on the

web page (above)
along with the Guidance on Electoral Registration Data Standards
Directives for
England and Wales, and for Scotland.

[1] http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/electoral-data-
standards.htm

**6. Public Sector Information Debate**

Michael Nicholson, Managing Director of Intelligent Addressing,
confronts the PSI
debate; the key question of whether this should be free, and the
thorny issue of
what is "public task" and what is not.

Over the past eight years there has been a growing volume of
concern expressed about
how the public sector makes its public data ("Public Sector
Information" or PSI)
available.

The key question is whether PSI should be "free" or charged for.

If PSI is charged
for (for example by Trading Funds such as the Met Office or
Ordnance Survey) then
how should this process be managed to stimulate use and, if it
is free, then how
should it be paid for?

The topic is neither a vote-winner, although it is probably of

profound importance
to the UK and certainly of passionate interest to suppliers of
PSI and PSI re-users;nor
is it straightforward.

It covers the question of what is the "Public Task" of PSI

holders in the first
place. How should the boundaries of Public Task be drawn to
stimulate choice, higher
quality, enterprise and innovation? How might government best
procure the information
it needs in order to govern?

Vested interests abound and some of the advice given to

Ministers (from both sides)
appears highly misleading. In the midst of this confusion there
have been three
government reports which stand out as beacons of common sense.
In all they total
over 1,000 pages, but to paraphrase parts of them:

The OFT's study on the Commercial Use of Public Information

(CUPI, 2006) pointed
 out that some of the Trading Funds current practices (Ordnance
Survey was highlighted)
might be preventing fair competition and that, if resolved, the
value of PSI to
UK plc would at least double;

The Cabinet Office then commissioned a report ("The Power of

Information") which
argued that times had changed - primarily because of the
Internet - and that there
was an urgent need to review the Trading Fund model and that PSI
should probably
be made freely available in order to maximise its use and thus
value;

The Treasury and BERR then commissioned a further report (the

Cambridge Study) which
concluded that making some PSI free (but not fees for statutory
PSI) would be generative
of socio-economic value and would probably have no net cost to
Treasury.

In the face of such a broad consensus that change would be

beneficial, Treasury
and BERR hastily commissioned a further report - this time from
the Shareholder
Executive. Their remit was to look at how a number of different
options for making
PSI available would affect the financial viability of certain
Trading Funds, including
Ordnance Survey and the Met Office. This report is expected to
be available to
Ministers before the end of the year.

What is likely to happen? In the short-term it is likely that

all PSI providers
will have to ensure that, where they exploit data themselves,
they do so on a fair
basis. Whilst this may seem eminently reasonable it is proving
surprisingly difficult
to implement. Financial cross-subsidy between PSI activities
can be rife and awkward
to iron out, and draconian licensing terms provide a comfort
zone which prevents
competition.

In the longer-term it seems probable that many forms of PSI

which are currently
charged for will be made available free, although not the
provision of statutory
information. When this happens, the accompanying licensing
terms will become far
more straightforward than they are currently; the activity which
falls within the
"Public Task" will be more focused upon what is strictly
necessary for government,
and there will be a far greater choice of suppliers adding value
to PSI.

And as for the NLPG and NSG? Neither dataset falls under the
"PSI Directive" but,
if the changes described above come about, then Ordnance Survey
may cease to charge
for their IPR within AddressPoint and both the NLPG and NSG
could become available
at a far lower price covering the licence fee to Royal Mail and
a payment to local
government for part of the maintenance and development overhead.

The datasets are already proving essential to a growing number

of government functions
but, in these circumstances, we are confident that the usage of
both the NLPG and
NSG will explode amongst the thousands of organisations in the
private sector which
need definitive data relating to streets and addresses.

**7. Unlocking the Potential of PSI Conference**

PSI is critical to the how the Government interacts with its
citizens and this conference,
which will be held in Central London on October 14th 2008, will
provide a forum
for policy makers, public content providers, re-users and
industry leaders to discuss
"Unlocking the Potential of Public Sector Information". Michael
Wills, the Minister
for Information, Ministry of Justice is the keynote speaker. The
conference will:
Examine the barriers that can impede effective re-use of PSI
Consider the role, work and next steps of the Power of
Information Taskforce Understand
where innovation and new developments might take an
organisation's use of PSI
Discuss the critical issues facing PSI practitioners.
Details and registration forms for the conference, can found on
[1]www.eventsforce.net.

[1] http://www.eventsforce.net/dods/frontend/reg/thome.csp?
pageID=151714&CSPCHDx=0000000000000&ef_sel_menu=82&eventID=819&eve
ntID=819

**8. Govt. Body Wants Antiquated Census Scrapped**

A New Local Government Network (NLGN) think tank [1]Report has
called for the ten
yearly Census to be scrapped in its present form. It claims
that the information
gathered will be out of date by the time it is published, will
be insufficiently
detailed and could underestimate the number of people living in
Britain.

Chris Leslie, the Director, said:

"The census has been around for two hundred years and it is no
longer gathering
the right sort of data for modern public services. We are left
in a situation where
not only does central government not know where it should
distribute grant, but
local councils do not have the information or flexibility to
work out where best
to spend money to tackle worklessness and crime, or to gauge
where future demand
will be for care homes and schools.

It is time for the Government to scrap this outdated method.

NLGN's proposal would
make the most of the incredible amount of data already
collected, drive joined-up
services across government and save significant sums of money
over the long term".

Surely this is an opportunity for Local Government to unleash

the potential of the
NLPG, the definitive master address list for England and Wales
maintained by local
government itself, and demonstrate the power of the UPRN to link
data from different
sources.

[1] http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/wp-content/uploads/local-
counts.pdf

**9. NLGN Launches Multi Area Agreement Forum**

The New Local Government Network think tank has launched a
website for the new Multi
Area Agreement Forum.

The MAA Forum is hosted in conjunction with NLGN and the

Institute of Political
and Economic Governance at the University of Manchester. The
Forum is an association
of new and potential local authority sub-regional clusters,
aiming to deliver a
nationally-organised network to pool thinking. It will provide
a shared secretariat
for Multi Area Agreements, sharing learning, discussing future
policy and strategy,
 and making joint representations to Ministers when appropriate.

Further information can be found at [1]www.maaforum.org.uk.

[1] http://www.maaforum.org.uk

**10. Interactive Local Crime Maps**

Every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have access to the
latest local crime
information through new interactive crime maps by the end of the
year, according
to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

The rollout of interactive crime maps is part of the Policing

Green Paper, announced
last month - see [1]Home Office Press Release. These will allow
the public to see
where and when crime has happened, down to street level for some
crimes.

London's Metropolitan Police is one of a number of Forces that

have Crime Mapping
Websites. Its [2]test web site has been developed in
conjunction with the Metropolitan
Police Authority and the Mayor of London.

[1] http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/Crime-Maps
[2] http://maps.met.police.uk/

**11. Intelligent Addressing Events**

Details of events the IA team are attending to promote the
benefits of maintaining
the NLPG and NSG can be seen on the new IA [1]Events page. From
there you will also
be able to follow links to the event hosts web sites.

[1] http://www.nlpg.org.uk/nlpg/link.htm?id=2021

**12. Local Land Charges - Best Practice for Local Authorities**

October 23rd 2008, Birmingham, Public Sector Forums are holding
the above event
to look at best practice in local government land charges. The
event is being Chaired
by Jan Boothroyd, Deputy Chief Executive, Land Data cic
(formerly C-NLIS cic) and
the agenda will feature a series of 'best practice' case study
presentations from
a number local authorities. Delegates will be seated at round
tables allowing plenty
of time for group discussion, panel questions and networking.
Topics to be covered
on the day include:
&loz; Achieving the Customer Service Excellence Standard
 &loz; Partnership working and shared services
&loz; Using IT to reduce the cost of a local land charges search
&loz; Evaluating and measuring performance
&loz; Improving the speed and accuracy of searches
&loz; Marketing innovation - promoting land charges services
&loz; Working to reduce fees

Speakers include:
John Jolley, Land Charges Manager, Tunbridge Wells Borough
Council
Alison Walker, Local Land Charges Manager, Legal and Democratic
Services, South
Gloucestershire Council
Nigel Hemmings, Local Land Charges Manager, Birmingham City
Council
Caroline Towers, Land Charges Manager, London Borough of Sutton
Full details and booking form can be accessed here:
[1]www.publicsectorforums.co.uk

Delegate places are £195 per person. If you register three

people at the same time
your third place will be free. For for more details and
feedback from previous
events, please email [2]emma@publicsectorforums.co.uk

[1] http://www.publicsectorforums.co.uk/page.cfm?pageID=5111
[2] mailto:emma@publicsectorforums.co.uk

**13. Vacancy for Corporate GIS Administrator at Hart DC**

We are looking for GIS Administrator to manage, maintain and
develop their GIS and
databases. The role encompasses installation and maintenance of
the latest GIS software
and it's supporting programs together with promoting the system
within the council
to maximise their investment. Salary £26,067 - £28,172 pa.

You will have great enthusiasm for GIS, an organised approach,

excellent interpersonal
and communication skills, as well as sound technical and
practical knowledge on
mapping and databases.

Your role will include implementing systems, delivering training

and advising senior
officers on emerging issues.

The successful applicant will have a relevant degree in either

Computer Science,
Geography, Civil Engineering or/and Planning, as well as
substantial technical experience
with geographic database design, GIS data conversion processes
and data analysis.
 Application packs are available to download from the Hampshire
Recruitment Portal
at [1]www.hants.gov.uk Job Vacancies pages.

Closing date: 12th September 2008.

[1] http://www.hants.gov.uk

**14. Thurrock is Seeking a LLPG/LSG Custodian**

Post No: Z04136. Salary: £27,783 - £36,273 per annum Hours: 37
hours per week

Thurrock Council is looking for a LLPG/LSG Custodian to assist

the GIS Manager in
the maintenance of the LLPG and LSG. The successful candidate
will be responsible
for the overall management, maintenance and integration of the
LLPG and LSG, ensuring
that quality standards, local and national conventions are
adhered to.

The post plays an important role in the e-government

modernisation of Thurrock Council,
and we are looking for candidates that have enthusiasm and
vision within the field
of information management, preferably to degree standard.
Candidates will need to
have knowledge of relational database concepts, data migration
and experience of
using GIS, preferably ArcGIS. Knowledge of BS7666 and an
understanding of the roles
of GIS and the LLPG in local government are essential.

For further information about this vacancy please contact Lee

Henley on 01375 652500.
PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT APPLY

For full details on this and other vacancies in the Thurrock

area, and to apply
on-line, please go to [1]www.thurrock.gov.uk/jobs If you do
not have Internet
access, please call 0870 787 1176 between the following times:
(Mon-Fri 0800hrs
- 1900hrs, or Sat 0900hrs - 1400hrs). Please E-Mail enquiries
to: [2]recruitment@thurrock.gov.uk

Closing Date: 14/09/2008

[1] http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/jobs
[2] mailto:recruitment@thurrock.gov.uk
[NLPG]
**1. FTP Username and Password Changes**
Please remember that on Friday September 12th 2008 at 17.00hrs
your current password
will expire and your new password will become active. From now
until this date,
your new FTP password details - stored in the OUT directory in a
folder called 'new
ftp details' - are available to download from the FTP site
(ftp://ftp.nlpg.org.uk/)
using your current log in details.

If you do not download your new FTP password details by Friday

September 12th 2008
your ALO should contact the helpdesk on 020 77473502 or email
[1]helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk
to request your new FTP password.

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

**2. DTF7.3**
Since the successful migration of all creating authorities to
DTF7.3 IA have continued
to support the old 6.3 data transfer format for organisations
taking NLPG extracts.
As the number of DTF6.3 recipients is diminishing rapidly IA
have decided to withdraw
support for this service at the end of the current MSA, at the
beginning of April
2009. This will give all the remaining DTF6.3 clients the time
and opportunity
to transfer to the new format and benefit from the richness of
the new data supply.
All existing DTF6.3 services will continue to be honoured
until April 2009 but
no new orders will be accepted in the old format.

**3. NLPG Health Check Exceptions**

The August NLPG Health Checks have been made available to
download from the FTP
site. We have now set up the facility for Custodians to notify
the hub of valid
records which have been reported as warnings. Once a record is
flagged as an Exception
to a particular Warning it will be excluded from future Health
Check reports for
that Warning; currently this is being trialled with the East of
England and West
Midlands Regions.

Details of the process will be posted on the NLPG website

pending completion of
the trial.
This facility is only currently possible for the following two
warnings:

LPI-V12C SAO_TEXT begins with a number

LPI-V12D PAO_TEXT begins with a number
If you are in one of the trial regions and would like to submit
'Exception' records
to the hub, please contact either [1]Exceptions@nlpg.org.uk or
your regional chair
for details.

[1] mailto:Exceptions@nlpg.org.uk

**4. NLPG Appointments**

NLPG Business Development Manager. The recruitment exercise for
an NLPG Business
Development Manager to spearhead the marketing of NLPG licences
to end users has
been successfully finalised. Nick Turner, currently NSG
Custodian, who has secured
the position, will have a gradual migration to his new post,
from September 15th
2008 through to mid October, while arrangements are made to fill
the role of NSG
Custodian. He will continue to provide advice and assistance
as NSG Advisor as
and when required.

Additions to the Special Projects Team. The special project

team has brought in
two additional members of staff (on the left Emily Griffiths
and on the right Tom
Peirson-Webber) to work on cleaning, matching and converting
data for special projects.
Both have already had considerable amount of experience in
data processing for
Intelligent Addressing over the summer period. The team,
headed up by Catherine
Teare, is currently involved with processing VOA, CORE,
FireControl, NROSH data.

**5. NLPG Training 2008**

Intelligent Addressing Autumn training sessions - 'Introduction
to COU and Health
Check Reports' - are now fully booked and the delegate list is
closed to new registrations.
The regional sessions, running from September 10th 2008 until
October 7th 2008,
will cover the structure of the monthly health check report and
NLPG hub reports
 generated when processing COU files, along with the most common
error and warning
checks identified in both reports, and how to resolve these
issues.

If you are interested in attending this training course in the

future, please register
your interest by contacting [1]helpdesk@intelligent-
addressing.co.uk. The training
is intended for LLPG custodians and anyone working on the LLPG
gazetteer.

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

**6. New LLPG Regional Chair for the South West**

We would like to thank Pete Bamber for all the hard work he has
put in as South
West Regional Chair, and welcome Alan Hooper, from Mid Devon and
his two deputies
John Jaggard, from Swindon and Jason Higgs from Caradon.

Pete is organising the next Regional Meeting in Taunton on

September 11th 2008 and
will be officially handing over the reins at the meeting.

**7. Upcoming NLPG Events**

A member of Intelligent Addressing will be attending the
following NLPG related
events in September:

How are Electoral Services measuring up, September 2nd 2008,

Hinckley Island Hotel,
Leicestershire.

LLPG Regional Custodian Group meetings:

South West (Taunton) - Thursday, September 11th 2008.

East Midlands (Nottingham) - Friday, September 19th 2008.
West Midlands (Sandwell) - Wednesday, September 24th 2008.
North West (Bolton) - Tuesday, September 30th 2008.

[NSG]
**1. MSA Organisations and Downloading the NSG**
All MSA signatories are allowed under the terms of the MSA to
download Level 3 NSG
data. This includes district councils, Police and Fire
authorities. The registration
process is very simple and can be completed on the registration
page at [1]www.thensg.org.uk.

If you think your organisation could use the NSG but would like
to know more please
do not hesitate to contact either Nick Turner, NSG custodian, or
Baz Lokat at the
NSG hub on 0207 7473500; or email [2]helpdesk@intelligent-
addressing.co.uk

[1] http://www.thensg.org.uk
[2] mailto:helpdesk@intelligent-addressing.co.uk

**2. NSG Usernames and Passwords**

The format for usernames and passwords has now changed - this
change will affect
only a small number of users whose current login details do not
meet the new security
requirements. If you experience problems accessing the NSG or
problems changing
your password please contact IA ([1]contact@intelligent-
addressing.co.uk / telephone
020 7747 3500) to discuss the options available.

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

**3. NSG Golf**

The NSG Custodian is organising a golf competition on the day
before to Exemplar
Awards. It will take the form of an 18 hole full handicap
stableford on a course
in West Birmingham (near the hotels and Underpinning
Transformational Government
Conference venue).

Anybody interested in competing should contact Nick Turner at

[1]nickt@thensg.org.uk.

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

**4. NSG Expands Team**

Intelligent Addressing would like to welcome Baz Lokat to the
NSG as NSG coordinator.
He joined IA from Thurrock Council where he worked as LLPG and
LSG Custodian for
18 months and before that he was LLPG Custodian at Colchester.

Baz is responsible for all creating authority issues on the NSG

and can be reached
at [1]alokat@thensg.org.uk. He is currently working on the final
text for the new
NSG Compliance Document which is due to be issued shortly.

[1] mailto:alokat@thensg.org.uk
**5. Up and Coming NSG Events**
A member of Intelligent Addressing and IDeA will be attending
the following NSG
Related Events:
South East HAUC Annual Conference (Sandown) - Wednesday,
September 3rd 2008.