Ordnance Survey annual report and Accounts 2009-10

Dated June 2007. Supplied via TSO's On-Demand Publishing Service

The Ordnance Survey has existed for 216 years as a publicly funded and managed agency of government. It became a Trading Fund, then an Executive Agency in 1980s and 1990s, and is now overseen by the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Survey though ceased to be publicly funded in October 2006, and since that time is required to make a profit and so engage in commercial competition. This in turn raises the question of whether such a dominant organisation can operate fairly in the information market. A previous report (HCP 481, session 2001-02, ISBN 9780215003812), concluded that there needed to be defined boundaries between public service and national interest work. The Communities and Local Government Committee has set out 12 conclusions and recommendations, including: now that Ordnance Survey is self supporting, both funding its public task and commercial work entirely from its own revenues, the distinction between public duty and commercial interest is no longer clear; the Committee believes that the Surveys' annual report and accounts should distinguish between its public and private tasks; that the Survey needs to co-operate with the private sector in regard of licences that cover intellectual property rights, particularly if the licence is too stringent in its' requirements, such as requiring competitors not to compete with the Survey; greater clarity is needed on what use can be made of data bought from the Survey and that licensing conditions appear to be too complex and inflexible.

H.M. Land Registry was established in 1862 as a government department in its own right; it became an executive agency in 1990 and a trading fund in April 1993. Its main aims include to maintain and develop a stable and effective land registration system throughout England and Wales, and to guarantee title to registered estates and interests in land. This annual report and accounts reviews the Registry's activities, objectives and performance during the year ending March 2007.

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Bringing producer and consumer debates together, Geographic Information: Value, Pricing, Production, and Consumption provides a coherent perspective on what have become emotional and territorial issues of IPR protection and liberation. This book addresses a range of issues relating to GI, from its definition, purpose, and use to how GI affects indi

In its report of last year on the Communities and Local Government's Departmental Annual Report 2007 (HC 170, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215037978) the Committee commented on the particular nature of the Department's work: on its unusual reliance for the achievement of the goals Government has set it on a plethora of other Departments, agencies, non-departmental bodies, local authorities and other stakeholders; on the long, devolved delivery chains by which those goals therefore have to be delivered; and on the skills of influence, brokering and negotiation which are required to achieve them. In this Report the Committee assesses the progress made since last. The most recent Cabinet Office Capability Review concludes that there has been a positive "direction of travel" for CLG in that period, but the Committee concludes that there is still some way to go before CLG can be said to be performing at the highest achievable level of effectiveness. The Department's overall performance against its Public Service Agreement targets is likewise moving in the right direction but still short of full effectiveness. Achievement of efficiency targets is applauded. Finally, the report considers examples of particular policies which highlight some of the Department's strengths and weaknesses, and follow up some issues in earlier inquiries. These issues include: eco-towns; the Decent Homes programme; Home Information Packs; Fire Service response times; Firebuy; the FiReControl programme. The report also considers the Department's response to the serious flooding of summer 2007, and to the reviews which followed; and the mismanagement of European Regional Development Fund monies.

Ordnance Survey annual report and Accounts 2010-11

Since 2000-01, the Department for Regional Development has provided £155 million for capital investment in the rail network in Northern Ireland. In January 2001, the Department approved a project costing £14.7 million to upgrade the Belfast to Bangor railway line, one of the busiest railway lines in Northern Ireland carrying nearly 2 million passengers a year. However, this NIAO report finds that the project experienced a number of difficulties, resulting in a very significant overspend and late delivery, with a final cost of almost £34 million, and completion in September 2002 delayed by nine months later than planned. The problems were the result of failures in several key areas, and in addition to the increased cost of the project, there is uncertainty as to whether it has delivered all of its intended benefits. The original specification of a 90 mph speed limit was reduced to 70 mph and other works on bridges and sea defences were removed from the contract to reduce costs. The report makes a number of recommendations to improve performance in relation to: economic appraisal; construction procurement and project management; records management; ex-gratia payments to staff; corporate governance; and departmental control of capital projects.