Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Not Addressed
Existing data platforms remain siloed, hindering cross-organisational sharing of environmental data
Conclusion
Improved data sharing is a fundamental enabler of efficient and effective cross-organisational work to deliver sustainable housing. While there is evidence of cross-departmental working between DEFRA and MHCLG on planning, nature and housebuilding, the evidence we have taken suggests that existing data platforms are still siloed within organisations. This inhibits the sharing of geospatial and ecological data which could improve decision making relating to environmental and housing building targets. The sharing of environmental and land use data is a key enabler for improving cross-departmental collaboration, supporting decision-making, increasing overall efficiency and allowing government departments, local planning authorities, and arms-length bodies to collaborate on individual cases, within a single, unified case working system. (Conclusion, Paragraph 31)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response focuses on general plan-making system reforms and the use of digital tools, but does not specifically address the committee's observation about siloed geospatial and ecological data platforms inhibiting cross-organisational data sharing.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
The Government’s Planning Data Platform (https://planning.data.gov.uk) is an operational Beta service which aims to make land and housing data easier to find, use and trust. The Platform collects planning and housing data (including environmental data) from local planning authorities, other planning authorities, and existing national sources visible through services such as MAGIC and Local Land Charges. It transforms this data into a consistent format across England making it visible on a national map, as well as being searchable, and accessible through APIs which support geospatial data, and other data. The data can also be downloaded in bulk under clear licensing and attribution terms. The service is expanding in its scope, with current data driven by the needs of digital planning services being developed as part of the wider Digital Planning Programme, although the data is available for anyone to view, download and use for analysis and decisions related to the environment, planning and housebuilding. Data on the platform has been prioritised to: support the development of local plans; support software such as PlanX, which reduces call-centre traffic by helping householders and others to understand whether they need planning permission; and monitor housing delivery. A key part of this work involves discovering user needs for “planning considerations” and collaboratively designing these as datasets for the platform. We are developing planning data standards and will introduce data standards via secondary legislation through planning data powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (“LURA 2023”), to increase consistency of data across the planning system. In the Government’s Land Use Consultation last year, respondents were asked questions about actions that could be taken to improve access to spatial data for use by various sectors. The Government’s response will be outlined in the forthcoming Land Use Framework, including exploring the potential to work collaboratively across Government departments to improve the interoperability of spatial data for decision-making.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗