Data is the 21st century’s new raw material. In the last 20 years, the world has opened up and citizens across the globe are proclaiming their right to data. Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Francis Maude, believes the UK is at the start of a global movement towards transparency – and that they are leading the world in making data more freely available. By opening up, Maude states it will empower citizens, foster innovation and reform public services. “We’re creating an information marketplace for entrepreneurs and businesses; releasing valuable raw data from real-time transport information to weather data,” says Maude. Opening up data is underpinning the central Government’s public service reforms by offering people informed choices that simply haven’t existed before, exposing what is inadequate and driving improvement. To ensure that there are no inequalities in the data market, the Government will enhance access to data, build greater trust in public data, and ensure that their public services are more personalized and efficient in the future. They are determined to shift the culture of the public sector to improve data sharing where it is in the public interest and within legislative boundaries, and they will use the latest technology to deliver this.
