Parliamentary group queries need for new database of property addresses
An influential IT lobby group has called for further clarity over the Government's plans to create a single national database for property and address information.
EURIM, the all-party parliamentary-industry group, signalled on 7 July that while in principle it welcomed the development of what is currently known as the National Spatial Address Infrastructure (NSAI), members had raised questions and concerns about the project.
It questions the basic rationale for the project, if it has a supporting high-level business case, or even whether a single database is necessary – or in fact desirable.
"Is the further proliferation of unique reference numbers a good reason not to create a new database?", EURIM asks.
The NSAI project, unveiled on 26 May by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Improvement and Development Agency and mapping agency Ordnance Survey, is designed to create a resource to enhance service delivery across government.
It aims to build up a definite and up-to-date national database of addresses, replacing the thousands of separate lists currently in use.
EURIM, however, highlights that its work in this area has uncovered widespread problems with the accuracy of existing sources of property data.
"Early indications show that there are significant anomalies in the data held across many well-recognised, property related databases", it said. "This leads us to believe there is a requirement for a solid exercise to confirm these findings and also identify their likely causes, in a form that can be used with departments across Government."
It also believes the work needed eliminated uplicate property references from the NSAI database will be "significant", and queries which government organisation will be tasked to undertake this.
EURIM adds that there is an "inherent problem" with using data in a way not originally intended. The Electoral Register, it cites as an example, is constrained by issues associated with the Parliamentary process.
Private sector input will be vital to ensure a complete picture of property references, it stressed.
The response came from EURIM's Personal Identity Group, representing 180 representations from around 50 organisations and including those, it said, "running or supplying most of the identity initiatives of central government".
The group said its contribution was not a formal response, but only initial feedback, due to the short stakleholder consultation period, which closed on 30 June
Related Links
EURIM Personal Identity Group - Response to NSAI Prospectus (Word Document: 56KB)
Addressing the Nation: Plans for Spatial Infrastructure Move Ahead
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