Policy paper

UK Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18

Published 12 May 2016

Foreword by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General

This government is determined to deliver on its manifesto commitment to continue to be the most transparent government in the world. This is an ambitious task - but we are building on a strong base. I am proud of our global reputation as a pioneer and leader on open government, and I am determined that we continue to stretch ourselves to stay at the forefront of this exciting agenda.

It is staggering to think how far we have already come. Until the late 18th century it was illegal to report on parliamentary proceedings. The lobby correspondents of the day – including a young Samuel Johnson – had to hide in a corner, furtively jotting down notes, then style their accounts as reports from the senate of a fictional country. Speeches were often misremembered, or heavily embellished. If you were too accurate you could go to prison. So the public only had a vague and shadowy sense of what was being said in their name.

Parliament’s decision in 1771 to stop prosecuting political publishers was an early exercise in open government. The date is no accident. The big idea of the Enlightenment was that no idea was above scrutiny. In politics and science truth was no longer an appeal to authority, but to evidence. Fast forward to today and we live in a world transformed by science and technology, and most recently by the digital revolution. That revolution is fundamentally changing how power is distributed and the scale and speed of human connection. These changes don’t just make it possible to open-up as never before - they demand it.

There is much to be proud of in this, our third Open Government Partnership National Action Plan:

  • unprecedented visibility on how government spends money
  • world-leading commitments to tackle corruption
  • increased investment in our national information infrastructure, opening up better quality data to strengthen accountability, drive reform and spur innovation

But, the content of the plan is just one part of the story. What matters just as much is how it was developed. The commitments reflect many months of close collaboration between government officials and civil society reformers. Transparency is most effective when it drives participation. Not just looking in, but taking part. In the late 18th century, legal parliamentary reporting didn’t end the clamour for reform. Once the public could read what MPs were actually saying they wanted to join the debate and quite right too. Today they can lead it – if we’re open on the data, collaborative in design and responsive to citizen feedback. Open government means accepting that we don’t have all the answers, and putting data and power in the hands of people who might.

So now that we have developed this National Action Plan together with civil society, I hope we can work together to deliver it. Because this is about continuing to change the way we govern. We want to build a Britain where the citizen is an editor as well as a reader, where we use data to make decisions, and where a free society, free markets and the free flow of information all combine to drive our success in the 21st century. Our aim is to use transparency to improve Britain for the citizens who we serve.

Foreword by the UK Open Government Network

Open government is the simple but powerful idea that governments and institutions work better for citizens when they are transparent, engaging and accountable. It is not a set of lofty principles, but the building block for a more democratic, equal and sustainable society.

The consequences of opaque and unaccountable government are clear to see. Secrecy enables corruption, injustice, and negligence to go unchecked. The release of the Panama Papers revealed the scale of global resources hidden in secretive tax havens. Detailed investigations have shown the extent of UK property bought with dirty money by shadow companies. Lobbying scandals have revealed how vested interests seek to influence public decision-making. Public scandals, from Hillsborough to Mid-Staffordshire, have demonstrated the devastating consequences of unaccountable secrecy.

The UK Open Government Network (the OGN) was established by civil society in 2011 in response to the UK joining the Open Government Partnership. Since then we have sought to build a broad coalition of active citizens and civil society organisations to secure robust and ambitious open government reforms. In preparation for this action plan, we crowdsourced an Open Government Manifesto outlining 28 proposals as draft commitments. Via an online platform and a series of workshops, we heard from over 250 members of civil society on their priorities for reform, including opening up public contracting, government budgets, devolution deals, public service delivery, state surveillance and company ownership.

We welcome the progress made on a number of the OGN’s priorities in this National Action Plan, and particularly endorse the progress on open contracting, beneficial ownership transparency and parliamentary openness. We trust that the shift to a rolling action plan will enable us to add commitments and milestones to continue to increase the ambition and comprehensiveness of the plan over the next two years. There are a number of areas of open government that are important to the OGN that are not included in the plan. These include open budgeting, lobbying transparency and transparency of surveillance. We will continue to push the government to make reforms in these areas.

We commend the collaborative approach taken to develop this action plan, and particularly welcome the partnership with civil society, devolved governments and parliaments. This approach, although challenging at times, has resulted in a stronger set of commitments and will help to drive progress across the UK’s nations.

Good open government reforms secure significant and lasting change to the way government and wider society operates, transferring power from the powerful to the powerless, and ensuring that decision makers are responsive and accountable to citizens. Too often governments can use the language of openness as a facade to cover inaction or regression on critical issues.

Governments in the UK are not exempt from this, and we must ensure that openness and accountability are embedded across its institutions. We will continue to collaborate with and hold government to account for its progress.

Introduction

We are committed to being the most transparent government in history. This Open Government National Action Plan (NAP) – our third since co-founding the Open Government Partnership (OGP) – marks an important step forward in our ongoing mission to realise that aim.

We live in a world transformed by science and technology, and above all by the digital revolution. Because the cost of sharing information has been cut dramatically - often to zero or close to it - we can be more open than ever before. But the digital revolution, and the human connection it enables, doesn’t just make unprecedented transparency and engagement possible - it demands it.

Quite simply, openness is what makes modernity work. And any digital network depends for its success on openness and participation. The internet itself began life as a closed system, because the US military needed a decentralised communications network that could withstand nuclear attack. Today, power is being distributed along fibre optic cables and across mobile networks. If you own a laptop and a great idea, you can start a business from your kitchen table, crowdsource the finance and sell your product direct to the public. If you’re unhappy with the service you received in a restaurant, you can log onto TripAdvisor and let other potential customers know. This sharpened accountability strengthens the incentive to improve and innovate - businesses have to up their game. The same should be, and increasingly is, true for government and public services.

It is no coincidence that as the digital revolution has taken hold, the open government movement has gathered pace across the world. This is a movement of reformers - people both inside and outside government - who recognise the enormous potential of connecting and collaborating with each other to develop solutions to the big challenges facing society.

Nothing illustrates the vitality of this movement more clearly than the rapid growth of the OGP - from eight founding countries in 2011 (the UK proudly among them) to 69 today, involving many hundreds of civil society organisations, and many thousands of individual reformers, across the world. And as one of the pioneers of open data, open policy-making and e-government and, of course, as co-founders, Steering Committee members and former co-chairs of the OGP, the UK is at the forefront of this agenda. We believe that an open government is a better government:

  • more accountable and responsive to people
  • receptive to new ideas and better-able to implement them
  • best-placed to capitalise on the talents, expertise and energy of citizens, civil society and businesses to create a better, stronger society for all

So it is in this context that we are proud to present the UK’s third NAP. Proud both because we are making strong commitments - which we believe support our claim to be world-leaders on open government - but also because of the way in which they were developed. Although this is plan for government, it is not a plan by government alone. This plan has been co-created with members of civil society and active citizens, ably coordinated by the UK Open Government Network (OGN); it is the result of government officials working side-by-side with counterparts from civil society.

Of course, co-creation does not equate to a single view or mindset - nor should it. We haven’t committed to everything civil society asked for, and there are areas where they would have liked us to go further. This tension is central to both the challenge and opportunity of open policy-making - it drives innovation and encourages ambition. In developing this plan, we have looked at opportunities to further open up government in line with the OGP values of access to information, civic participation, public accountability and technology and innovation. Taken together, these commitments represent a significant step forward:

Leading the world in efforts to tackle corruption: already the first G20 country to create a public register of the beneficial ownership of companies, we now commit to establishing a register of foreign companies that purchase property or bid on central government contracts; we will work with others to enhance company disclosure regarding payments to government for the sale of oil, gas and minerals; we will produce a new robust cross-government Anti-Corruption Strategy, working closely with civil society and with strengthened accountability to Parliament; and we are incubating a new Anti-Corruption Innovation Hub, which will bring together civil society, governments, technologists and the wider private sector to connect and catalyse innovative approaches to tackling corruption.

Shining new light on how public money is spent: we are the first G7 country to commit to the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) for all contracts administered by our central purchasing authority, the Crown Commercial Service, which will open up data across the full contracting cycle. We will also begin applying this approach to major infrastructure projects, starting with the High Speed Two rail project, and then roll out the OCDS across wider government procurement. Additionally, we will improve the quality and transparency of data on government grants.

Improving the way we gather and release election data: working collaboratively with local authorities, the Local Government Association, the Electoral Commission and key civil society groups, we have agreed to work together to improve the quality, timeliness and consistency of our elections data

Enhancing transparency: by improving the operation of the Freedom of Information Act, making more information available in a more consistent way across the public sector and by consulting on and issuing a new Code of Practice.

Investing in our national information infrastructure: by ensuring that better quality data is made available to citizens so they can better hold government to account, and as a raw material for innovation and social and economic growth; this includes building a linked ecosystem of open registers, including exploring options to create an open, authoritative address register.

Using GOV.UK to make all of government more participative, open and accountable to all its users.

Sustained commitment to civil society engagement: using the OGP platform to continue to deepen and broader our dialogue with civil society on policy development.

Our dialogue with civil society and our work with colleagues in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland to advance open government around the UK doesn’t stop with the publication of this plan. Nor does this plan contain the totality of ongoing efforts to deepen transparency at all levels of government.

We are committed to open government, not just every two years when this plan is updated, but as business-as-usual. This means we expect to add new commitments over the next two years. We will also update commitments we have already made to add detail and drive delivery.

Global goals

These areas of commitment, which have long been at the core of the OGP, also underpin the Global Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular Goal 16 on peaceful, just and inclusive societies. We, as a member of the OGP, are dedicated to implementing Goal 16, and to the shared values it represents, to:

  • promote transparency
  • fight corruption
  • empower citizens
  • make government more effective and accountable and
  • promote a global culture of open government

As part of this, we will be playing a leading role in supporting international implementation of Goal 16 through coordinated cross-government actions, as set in the UK Aid Strategy, where the first strategic objective is to strengthen global peace, security and governance. This is bolstered by our on-going commitment to open government at home, embodied by the commitments laid out in this plan. We will work across Whitehall and with other members to champion the Global Goals, including Goal 16, and our promise to leave no one behind in these goals, through the forum of the OGP.

Developing this plan

In the UK we are proud of our pioneering work with civil society to make open policy-making a reality.

Our second Open Government National Action Plan (NAP) was a demonstration of open policy-making in practice - it emerged from a process of co-creation, with civil society partners and government officials sitting side-by-side to develop commitments. For this third plan, we have been determined to maintain that spirit of collaboration and openness - but to learn from the experience to improve the process and better engage parts of government and the country that could have been better represented in earlier plans.

In the mid-term self-assessment report on our second NAP we identified three main areas to address as part of development of this plan:

  • broaden engagement to incorporate views and priorities from a wider community
  • reflect work going on across the whole UK
  • dedicate more time to consultation

These were also recommendations made by the Open Government Partnership’s Independent Reporting Mechanism, and through development of this plan we have aimed to take advantage of opportunities to improve the process as reflected below.

Building on the trusted relationships developed through the second NAP, we have been working closely with the UK Open Government Network (OGN). The OGN has now grown to over 700 individual members across the UK, who have all expressed an interest in engaging with government to make us more transparent, accountable and participative.

Work to develop our third NAP began in early 2015 when the OGN crowdsourced an Open Government Manifesto, collecting contributions from over 250 members of civil society. Published in September 2015, this Manifesto contained 28 proposals for ambitious commitments civil society wanted to see included, and have provided a basis for discussion between interested parties from government and civil society.

In addition, government departments put forward proposals for commitments that have helped us draw other parts of government into the conversation and identify where conversations were already underway in relation to areas identified in the Open Government Manifesto.

The co-creation process for this NAP was kicked off with a launch event on 13 July 2015, co-hosted by the Cabinet Office and the OGN, with 80 attendees from government and civil society. From the outset, we have been keen to establish a more ongoing consultation and engagement with interested parties to help embed this process as business as usual and ensure that people can come into the conversation at any point in the process.

To help shape the ambition for this plan, theme leads from both government and civil society have been working together to come up with a collective ambition for the themes, the narratives for which were published for comment in December 2015, and to drive forward commitments in each theme which responded to that ambition.

We published a timeline on the OGN’s website and have kept that updated as timescales shifted.

Theme focused events were held in February, along with regional events in Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle in April, to develop commitments. This has helped us broaden the conversation with people that are new to the process, bringing up new issues and areas to address. Outputs from these events were all published to encourage further conversation and to be transparent throughout the process.

We have also been working with representatives from the Devolved Administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to bring them into the process. With the support of the OGN, civil society in each of the devolved nations have established their own Open Government Networks to engage with their governments on their commitments. For the first time we are working with parliament on commitments.

Implementation and ongoing engagement

Publishing this plan and the commitments alongside it is not the end of the story. We are committed to transparency around implementation and ongoing engagement. Throughout development of this plan we have emphasised our desire to move to a rolling process, engaging on existing and new commitments throughout the two-year period this plan covers.

Throughout implementation, we will build on the reporting process for our last plan to provide regular updates highlighting progress against each commitment as time passes. We will also be adding new commitments, as they are ready, and refining existing ones, to reflect the ongoing work and engagement in relation to open government policies.

Summary of commitments

Commitment number and title Commitment summary Lead implementing organisation(s) Other actors involved - government Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc
1. Beneficial ownership We will establish a public register of company beneficial ownership information for foreign companies who already own or buy property in the UK, or who bid on UK central government contracts. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Cabinet Office mySociety, Natural Resource Governance Institute, ONE, Publish What You Pay UK, The Open Data Institute, Transparency International UK
2. Natural resource transparency We will work with others to enhance company disclosure regarding payments to government for the sale of oil, gas and minerals, complementing our commitment to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and implementation of EU Directives, and explore the scope for a common global reporting standard. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department of Energy and Climate Change, HM Treasury, Financial Conduct Authority and Department for International Development N/A Global Witness, Natural Resource Governance Institute, ONE, Oxfam, Publish What You Pay
3. Anti-Corruption Strategy To develop, in consultation with civil society, and publish a new Anti-Corruption Strategy, ensuring accountability to Parliament on progress of implementation. Cabinet Office and Home Office All government departments Bond Anti-Corruption Group (ARTICLE 19, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Corruption Watch, Global Witness, Integrity Action, ONE, Public Concern at Work, The Corner House, Transparency International UK), Campaign for Freedom of Information, International Budget Partnership, mySociety, Natural Resource Governance Institute, Publish What You Pay UK
4. Anti-Corruption Innovation Hub We will incubate an Anti-Corruption Innovation Hub to connect social innovators, technology experts and data scientists with law enforcement, business and civil society to collaborate on innovative approaches to anti-corruption. Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service) Department for International Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Other governments (Switzerland, Indonesia, Spain, Georgia, UAE, Australia, Norway and France), The Omidyar Network, Thomson Reuters, Transparency International UK, Vodafone
5. Open contracting To implement the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) in the Crown Commercial Service’s operations by October 2016; we will also begin applying this approach to major infrastructure projects, starting with High Speed Two, and rolling out OCDS across government thereafter. Crown Commercial Service All government departments ARTICLE 19, CAFOD, Campaign for Freedom of Information, NCVO, Open Contracting Partnership, The Open Data Institute
6. Grants data Government plans to collect more granular data on grant making. This will be in line with the 360 Giving Standard. In addition, the Grants Efficiency Programme in the Cabinet Office will publish more granular level data on Government Grants Expenditure at a scheme and award level. The quantity and type of data provided publicly will be determined following consultation and agreement with the data providers. Cabinet Office All grant giving government departments 360Giving, NCVO, The Open Data Institute
7. Elections data Working with interested parties from government, Parliament and civil society, we will develop a common data standard for reporting election results in the UK faster and more efficiently, and develop a plan to support electoral administrators to voluntarily adopt the standard. Local Government Association Department for Communities and Local Government, House of Commons Democracy Club, Democratic Audit, Democratise, LGiU, mySociety, The Open Data Institute
8. Enhanced transparency requirements and revised Freedom of Information Act Code of Practice To increase transparency and improve the operation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in the public interest. Cabinet Office All government departments 360Giving, ARTICLE 19, Campaign for Freedom of Information, mySociety, The Open Data Institute, Transparency International UK
9. Identifying and publishing core data assets We will create a high quality national information infrastructure, making government data more secure and easier to find, store and access. Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service) All government departments mySociety, The Open Data Institute
10. Involving data users in shaping the future of open data We will ensure government’s work to modernise and improve the management, use and availability of data assets is informed by active and wide-ranging collaboration with current and potential data users. Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service) All government departments mySociety, The Open Data Institute
11. Better use of data assets We will encourage and support data-driven techniques in policy and service delivery across government departments and encourage the better use of open data in the economy and civil society. Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service) and Office for National Statistics All government departments Democratise, mySociety, The Open Data institute
12. GOV.UK Assess opportunities for digital consultation tools, rebuild navigation to bring guidance and policy together by topic, provide APIs for government content and provide a full version history of every published page. Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service) All government departments Democratic Society, Involve, Natural Resource Governance Institute, The Open Data Institute
13. Ongoing collaborative approach to open government reform Identify, develop and implement robust and ambitious open government commitments on an ongoing basis through collaboration with partners in governments, parliaments and civil society across the UK. Cabinet Office and Involve UK government departments and UK Parliament, in consultation with colleagues in Northern Ireland Executive, Scottish Government and Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly UK Open Government Network, NCVO

Commitment 1: Beneficial ownership

We will establish a public register of company beneficial ownership information for foreign companies who already own or buy property in the UK, or who bid on UK central government contracts.

Objective

The proposed beneficial ownership register will bring greater transparency to who bids on public contracts and owns or buys UK property.

Status quo

We currently do not collect or publish this information.

Ambition

From 6 April 2016, all UK companies are required to hold a register of People with Significant Control (PSC) and from 30 June 2016 UK companies will start providing PSC information to the Companies House public register. The UK is a founding country of the initiative for the automatic exchange of beneficial ownership information. This commitment will require foreign companies who own or buy property in the UK, or bid on central government public contracts, to identify and register their beneficial owners.

Lead implementing organisation

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Timeline

May 2016 to April 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Public accountability

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

Cabinet Office

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

mySociety, Natural Resource Governance Institute, ONE, Publish What You Pay UK, The Open Data Institute, Transparency International UK

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
The intention is to consult by the end of the year New May 2016 March 2017
Introduce primary legislation in the third Parliamentary session New May 2017 April 2018

Commitment 2: Natural resource transparency

We will work with others to enhance company disclosure regarding payments to government for the sale of oil, gas and minerals, complementing our commitment to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and implementation of EU Directives, and explore the scope for a common global reporting standard.

Objective

In addition to commitments on timely implementation of EITI and EU Directives, the UK will work with others to enhance company disclosure regarding payments to government for the sale of oil, gas and minerals. The UK will explore the scope for a common global reporting standard and work with others to build a common understanding and strengthen the evidence for transparency in this area.

Status quo

Over the last decade, the UK has led the way in encouraging the extractive sector to be more transparent, notably through a combination of voluntary reporting under the EITI and mandatory disclosure rules now present in the EU, Canada, the US and other countries. But despite this progress, a significant gap still exists. Payments from physical commodity trading companies to governments and state-owned enterprises for the sale of oil, gas and minerals – which account for the majority of total government revenues in countries such as Iraq, Libya, Angola and Nigeria – remain largely opaque. Whereas taxes, royalties and other payments are included within existing disclosure rules, payments from oil traders to governments (often $US billions/year) are not.

Ambition

To enhance company disclosure regarding payments to government for the sale of oil, gas and minerals.

Lead implementing organisation

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Department of Energy and Climate Change, HM Treasury, Financial Conduct Authority and Department for International Development

Timeline

May 2016 to March 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Public accountability

New or ongoing commitment

New and ongoing

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

Global Witness, Natural Resource Governance Institute, ONE, Oxfam, Publish What You Pay

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
UK to publish second EITI report by 15 April 2017 and commence validation to become EITI compliant Ongoing May 2016 April 2017
UK listed extractive companies will be required to publish data under the EU transparency amending directive in an open and accessible format Ongoing April 2017 March 2018
Agree terms of reference for the dialogue on increased transparency around sales of oil, gas and minerals New May 2016 December 2016

Commitment 3: Anti-Corruption Strategy

To develop, in consultation with civil society, and publish a new Anti-Corruption Strategy ensuring accountability to Parliament on progress of implementation.

Objective

To continue to have a robust cross-government Anti-Corruption Strategy that builds on the existing plan and brings together the UK’s current and up-to-date anti-corruption efforts in one place. The plan will be developed with civil society and delivered with strengthened accountability to Parliament.

Status quo

The first UK Anti-Corruption Plan, published in December 2014, features actions that have now been delivered. A new strategy will meet the government’s commitment to create a living document which evolves alongside the nature of the threat from corruption and our response both here in the UK and abroad.

Ambition

This presents an opportunity for a new strategy to:

  • present a strong strategic narrative around our anti-corruption efforts 

  • to capture international activity from the Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Summit 

  • to maintain our ambition to develop new commitments in areas of concern


Enhanced engagement with civil society organisations and more accountability to Parliament will help demonstrate the government’s openness to ensuring the principle of transparency is applied to all anti-corruption efforts. 


Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office and Home Office

Timeline

May 2016 to June 2018

OGP values

Civic participation, Public accountability

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

All government departments

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

Bond Anti-Corruption Group (ARTICLE 19, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Corruption Watch, Global Witness, Integrity Action, ONE, Public Concern at Work, The Corner House, Transparency International UK), Campaign for Freedom of Information, International Budget Partnership, mySociety, Natural Resource Governance Institute, Publish What You Pay UK

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
To consult with civil society on the content of and publish a UK Anti-Corruption Strategy Ongoing May 2016 November 2016
To publish progress against actions within the Strategy Ongoing November 2016 January 2018
To introduce a mechanism allowing greater Parliamentary scrutiny of anti-corruption work New May 2016 June 2018

Commitment 4: Anti-Corruption Innovation Hub

We will incubate an Anti-Corruption Innovation Hub to connect social innovators, technology experts and data scientists with law enforcement, business and civil society to collaborate on innovative approaches to anti-corruption.

Objective

To connect and catalyse innovative approaches to anti-corruption.

Status quo

Current efforts to innovate in tackling corruption are often scattered, piecemeal, and do not always utilise the benefits of scale. We need new coalitions to connect social innovators, technology experts, and businesses with law enforcement and civil society organisations to share experience and disseminate good practice that could be replicated and customised in different countries and contexts.

Ambition

Champion the use of innovative ways to report, detect and investigate corruption; collaborate on identifying and supporting, emerging anti-corruption innovations; share good practice and promote the use of anti-corruption innovations, and use established conferences and multilateral stakeholder groups to highlight innovative anti-corruption initiatives and opportunities for collaboration.

Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service)

Timeline

May 2016 to May 2017

OGP values

Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

Department for International Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

Several countries have expressed interest in participating in the Hub: Switzerland, Indonesia, Spain, Georgia, UAE, Australia, Norway and France. The Omidyar Network will provide support to the Hub. In addition Thomson Reuters, Vodafone and Transparency International UK have also expressed interest in working with the UK during the incubation phase.

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Establish Innovation Hub New June 2016 September 2016
Showcase examples of innovative approaches to tackling corruption at the 2016 OGP Summit in Paris in December 2016 New December 2016 December 2016
Operationalise Innovation Hub New December 2016 May 2017

Commitment 5: Open contracting

To implement the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) in the Crown Commercial Service’s operations by October 2016; we will also begin applying this approach to major infrastructure projects, starting with High Speed Two, and rolling out OCDS across government thereafter.

Objective

To ensure citizens can see a clear public record of how government money is spent on public contracts and with what results.

Status quo

Civil Society tells us that we could open more relevant data, publish it more consistently and in formats that allow it to be more easily analysed. The challenges of working with current published data are a barrier to suppliers and businesses in deciding whether to bid for public sector business, and means third parties are less able to hold government to account for the way public money is spent.

Ambition

This policy will help to bring about a bold shift in the global default of public contracting and procurement from closed to open, supporting fair and effective contracting that will reduce fraud and corruption, save governments money and time, create more business opportunities for small and medium sized businesses, and empower civil society oversight and citizen engagement and innovation in service delivery.

This represents a transformative commitment to transparency and we are the first G7 country to implement this.

Lead implementing organisation

Crown Commercial Service

Timeline

May 2016 to June 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

All government departments

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

ARTICLE 19, CAFOD, Campaign for Freedom of Information, NCVO, Open Contracting Partnership, The Open Data Institute

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Open Contracting Data Standard to be implemented on Crown Commercial Service procurement New May 2016 October 2016

Commitment 6: Grants data

Government plans to collect more granular data on grant making. This will be in line with the 360 Giving Standard. In addition, the Grants Efficiency Programme in the Cabinet Office will publish more granular level data on Government Grants Expenditure at a scheme and award level. The quantity and type of data provided publicly will be determined following consultation and agreement with the data providers.

Objective

Increased release of information about government grant making as open, machine-readable data.

Status quo

The government’s Grant Register was first published in January 2015 showing detail on government grants schemes for the 2013-14 financial year. The latest version of the register was published in February 2016 with information for the 2014-15 financial year. Collected by the Grants Efficiency Programme in Cabinet Office, the register includes the value of grant schemes and the type and number of recipients. While it is not fully comprehensive, and some of the information is estimated, the Grants Register provides a useful overview of the majority of government grants.

The recently launched Government Grants Information System (GGIS) has been developed to enable recording of grant information across government in a simple, standardised and scalable way. It improves transparency and provides insight into grant spend enabling departments to manage grants efficiently and effectively, while actively reducing the risk of fraud.

Access to the GGIS is limited to grant giving departments, and associated arms length bodies that give out grants on behalf of government. It is not open to the public.

Ambition

At present, we are concentrating on collecting and sharing the scheme and award level data internally across government via the GGIS and working with departments to improve the quality and quantity of that data.

Going forward, and in line with the transparency agenda, we plan to make that data available publically via the Grants Register to improve availability of information. The quantity and the type of data provided will be dependent on agreements with the data owners, ie government departments.

Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office

Timeline

May 2016 to March 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

All grant giving government departments

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

360Giving, NCVO, The Open Data Institute

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Collate granular level data on grant schemes and grant awards on the GGIS New May 2016 March 2017
Publish more granular data sourced from the GGIS on grant schemes and grant awards (the quantity and the type of data provided will be dependent on agreements with the data owners, ie government departments) New May 2017 March 2018

Commitment 7: Elections data

Working with interested parties from government, Parliament and civil society, we will develop a common data standard for reporting election results in the UK faster and more efficiently, and develop a plan to support electoral administrators to voluntarily adopt the standard.

Objective

To simplify and improve how the UK collects and publishes election data to enable greater use and reuse of structured information by government and civil society.

Status quo

Currently, there is no standard data structure for reporting election results. This means that to aggregate election results requires obtaining non-uniform, often unstructured data from each publishing authority - this is a highly resource intensive process.

Local authority returning officers currently have a statutory duty to publish local and national elections on local authority websites. This activity currently takes place in a piecemeal way from one organisation to another with no official guidance or common practice to publish such data in any particular style, format or web location. The Electoral Commission guides that administrators must give public notice of the name of each candidate elected and of the total number of votes given for each candidate (whether elected or not), together with the number of rejected ballot papers as shown in the statement of rejected ballot papers.

Whilst this approach allows scrutiny and review at the individual organisational level, much manual effort is required in finding the local published webpages and then to collate data from every publishing source to create a national overview. The current practice is difficult, labour intensive, time consuming and often error prone. Substantial savings, better data discovery and data reuse is possible if electoral administration departments can be encouraged to publish their data to a simple consistent form which can be read by humans and machines.

Ambition

The vision is to work with all interested parties to agree a simple, minimum burden process and data standard to introduce consistency of data availability across the local government sector.

Publishing election results in a consistent way will assist those who need to quickly understand the political landscape after an election and encourages other third parties to develop apps and other analysis services to help to inform the public faster about the overarching outcome from elections. It will also promote wider engagement and outreach with innovative application development and scrutiny by the electorate.

It is our aim that by 2020, all election results will be reported digitally using a standard, machine-readable and open standard.

Lead implementing organisation

Local Government Association

Timeline

May 2016 to June 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

Department for Communities and Local Government, House of Commons

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

Democracy Club, Democratic Audit, Democratise, LGiU, mySociety, The Open Data Institute

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Develop a draft schema and publishing process for consideration, refinement and agreement by interested parties - particularly data publishers, election management system (EMS) suppliers, data consumers New March 2016 May 2017
Use the draft data standard for real by gathering local elections results as they are announced New May 2016 June 2018
Develop guidance materials and a support programme to assist Election Services Departments to participate New June 2016 May 2017
Data consumer groups to trial early use of the standard - even to the extent of manually re-working published data into the standard themselves to demonstrate benefits New May 2016 May 2017
Adoption by the suppliers of EMS systems to provide auto-extraction of local election content into the standard format New October 2016 June 2018
Develop online data search, validation, harvesting and aggregation tools to assemble local data into combined regional and national elections results register New October 2016 June 2018
Encourage an initial pilot of local authorities to trial data output in the standard form - using May 2016 local election results. Aim for 20-30 participants New May 2016 May 2017
Encourage wider take up of the process in the 2017 local elections. Aim for 100-120 participants New May 2016 May 2017

Commitment 8: Enhanced transparency requirements and revised Freedom of Information Act Code of Practice

To increase transparency and improve the operation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in the public interest.

Objective

To enhance proactive transparency by making more information available in a more consistent way across the public sector; and to promote the effective operation of the FOI Act in the public interest by updating and expanding the Code of Practice.

Status quo

Public authorities are already required to publish a wide range of information proactively. The Independent Commission on Freedom of Information (the Commission) recognised that advances have been made, with specific reference to senior pay and benefits. The Commission also commented on the publication of FOI performance statistics by a range of public authorities, including central government. However, the Commission highlighted a lack of consistency. It noted a lack of reliable FOI performance data across the public sector as a whole. It also noted that while senior pay is published, details of expenses and benefits in kind are frequently not made available proactively. Further action is required to ensure enhanced and consistent standards of openness in these areas.

The Commission also highlighted the need to review and update the Code of Practice issued under section 45 of the FOI Act. This allows the government to set out the practice that it considers desirable for public authorities to follow in meeting their FOI obligations. The Code of Practice was issued over a decade ago in November 2004, shortly before the FOI Act was introduced, and has not been updated since to reflect developments in best practice and case law.

The recent report by the Commission recommended that:

“The government reviews section 45 of the Act to ensure that the range of issues on which guidance can be offered to public authorities under the Code is adequate.

“The government should also review and update the Code to take account of the ten years of operation of the Act’s information access scheme.”

Ambition

We are committed to making government more transparent, so taxpayers can hold it to account both on how money is being spent and how decisions are made. This commitment will implement proposals in the Commission’s report. It will improve and increase the range of information available to the public without having to make requests for it and will improve the operation of the Act.

Further steps will be taken to ensure transparency on issues such as FOI performance and senior pay and benefits across the whole public sector. The public should not have to resort to making FOI requests to obtain it. We intend to issue guidance to public authorities to set a higher standard for the publication of senior level pay and benefits by summer 2016. We will also issue guidance in the revised Section 45 Code of Practice to set a standard that public authorities with 100 full time equivalent employees or more should publish statistics on their FOI performance, to better hold public authorities to account.

A revised Code of Practice will ensure the range of issues on which guidance can be offered to public authorities is sufficient and up to date. Public authorities should have sufficient guidance to properly manage information access requests in order to protect the right of access to information the FOI Act provides. We aim to consult on and issue a new Code of Practice by the end of 2016.

Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office

Timeline

July 2016 to December 2016

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

All government departments

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

360Giving, ARTICLE 19, Campaign for Freedom of Information, mySociety, The Open Data Institute, Transparency International UK

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Enhanced transparency measures, including statistics on the operation of the FOI Act and data about senior pay and benefits New July 2016 December 2016
Consult on and issue new FOI Code of Practice New July 2016 December 2016

Commitment 9: Identifying and publishing core data assets

We will create a high quality national information infrastructure, making government data more secure and easier to find, store and access.

Objective

To refine our national information infrastructure in order to support publishing and ensure data is good enough for people and organisations in all sectors of the economy and society to use and build on; this includes exploring options for the creation of an open address register.

Status quo

Our data.gov.uk portal has been instrumental in enabling the UK government to open up over 27,000 datasets since its launch in 2010. However, despite considerable recent progress, government data can still be difficult to find and use.

Too much government data is still held in organisational silos, which are costly and inefficient to maintain. The data we currently make available openly does not always meet users’ needs in terms of format, quality and timeliness. At the same time, data publishing processes across government do not fit a standard model. They are not always automated or embedded in ‘business as usual’, which can mean there is sometimes duplication and overlap in the data government holds.

We want to unlock the power of data to transform public services, drive greater transparency and innovation, and empower civil society. To do this we need to continue to develop our national information infrastructure so that it is as helpful as it can be for all data users.

Ambition

To refine our national information infrastructure in order to support publishing and ensure data is good enough for people and organisations in all sectors of the economy and society to use and build on; this includes exploring options for the creation of an open address register.

We need to continue to establish the infrastructure to make finding and accessing good quality data as frictionless as possible. To improve the quality of government data, we need to improve data collection. Within the public sector we need to make more data more easily queried through APIs, while still supporting bulk downloads. This will benefit digital services and improve operational and policy decision-making. Increasingly this will mean those holding data acting as custodians for that data. It will increasingly mean creating open registers, with custodians who understand the importance of their role and the rules under which they should operate.

We are committed to reviewing our existing open data infrastructure to ensure it is fit for the purpose of enabling citizens, businesses and the public sector to locate and access high-quality open data assets from across government. So we will engage with data users and refresh our existing open data architecture to ensure it meets user needs going forward. We also need to ensure that core reference data is increasingly open and available without friction. This will include exploring options to create an open and freely available national address register, and ensuring the continued and improved availability of high-quality open data following any potential changes in the ownership of public data-holding bodies. An effective infrastructure requires metadata, standardised approaches for accessing data, appropriate institutional arrangements, skills, formalised obligations and effective co-ordination.

Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service)

Timeline

May 2016 to June 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

Ongoing

Other actors involved - government

All government departments

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

mySociety, The Open Data Institute

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Create a register of the fields used within canonical registers to ensure consistency of nomenclature New January 2016 June 2018
Create a linked ecosystem of trusted, resilient and accessible canonical data stores (known as registers), starting with data categories for which the user need is greatest (countries, local authorities, schools and companies) and implementing these during the period of this action plan New February 2016 June 2018
Through a technical working group, adopt existing and define and agree new common and, where possible, open data standards and approaches based on user needs New February 2016 Ongoing
Explore options for the creation of an open address register underpinned by an open and authoritative identifier to enable anyone to cite or find a property or premises in the UK New March 2016 Ongoing
Develop a better understanding of the data discovery needs of internal and external users of government data, to evolve data.gov.uk and inform the development of data discovery tools and services, with refreshed tools implemented during the period of this action plan New April 2016 June 2018
Report on the effects on the UK data infrastructure of any actions to change the ownership or contract out the operation of key public registers New May 2016 June 2018

Commitment 10: Involving data users in shaping the future of open data

We will ensure government’s work to modernise and improve the management, use and availability of data assets is informed by active and wide-ranging collaboration with current and potential data users.

Objective

To engage widely with current and potential data users in the development of the Government Data Programme and government’s broader open data agenda, in order to ensure that our work meets users’ needs and that limited resources are focused on areas of highest priority.

Status quo

Effective engagement with users of government data – whether in the public sector, private sector or civil society – is essential to shaping the future of open data. It is also key to the success of the Government Data Programme and our ability to drive innovation, public service reform and transparency through the better use of data.

Since our first OGP National Action Plan we have learned a huge amount through our engagement with data users. The feedback we have received has enabled government to prioritise its efforts to open up more data. We have built a clear understanding of the highest-value datasets that are not yet freely and openly available, giving us a strong platform on which to continue to pursue greater open access where appropriate. And we have heard clearly from stakeholders that open data quality and reliability, not just quantity, is crucially important. This has helped us to develop a Government Data Programme to address the need for modernised data infrastructure and capability across government, driving better quality data for all users.

We have opened up a huge range of government datasets, while strengthening citizens’ rights to request data in open and reusable format through amendments to the Freedom of Information Act and the introduction of the Re-use of Public Sector Information regulations. But we can be clearer and more proactive in raising awareness of the routes by which data access requests can be made available, and public bodies’ duties in responding to them.

Ambition

We need a wide range of engagement opportunities for users of government open data – and, crucially, those who currently do not use government data but stand to benefit from doing so. These will range from public events and speaking engagements, to online collaboration and subject-specific working groups. As government’s use of data develops and expands, this engagement will need to be active and ongoing, and must involve the full spectrum of holders and users of government data. We must also be open and transparent about the discussions we have held and the outcomes of those discussions.

Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service)

Timeline

May 2016 to June 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service)

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

mySociety, The Open Data Institute

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Develop a strong, ongoing and collaborative conversation with data users across sectors and specialisms, particularly through working groups and meet-ups on specific aspects of the government data agenda, to inform and challenge the Government Data Programme Ongoing May 2016 June 2018
Ensure government policy and the Government Data Programme is informed and challenged by leading external thinkers through an active Data Steering Group Ongoing November 2015 June 2018
Develop our partnership with the Open Data Institute to help government connect with data businesses, innovators and civil society Ongoing November 2015 June 2018
Build cross-government engagement and leadership on data management and open data, and publish plans for departmental engagement with data users and new open data commitments, through a cross-government Data Leaders Network Ongoing November 2015 June 2018
Maintain active and wide-ranging engagement with civil society groups to ensure the Government Data Programme supports better data access and use for smaller civil society organisations New May 2016 June 2018
Maintain regular updates on the government’s open data policies online through blog posts and social media - allowing users to interact with these policies as they develop and post suggestions for improvements New May 2016 June 2018
Explore further channels with which to engage users on open data issues, such as the Open Government Forum, Google Communities or Slack – these would have the advantage of real time discussion and problem solving, as well as a more direct link between government and data users New May 2016 June 2018
Engage with citizens, civil society, private and public sectors to develop an ethical framework for the use of data science techniques in government, including through public engagement events and an interactive online engagement tool Ongoing November 2015 July 2016

Commitment 11: Better use of data assets

We will encourage and support data-driven techniques in policy and service delivery across government departments and encourage the better use of open data in the economy and civil society.

Objective

Through our Government Data Programme, we plan to improve the availability, quality and use of government data and make it easier for that data to be used appropriately and effectively, both with and beyond government.

Status quo

Since our first OGP National Action Plan we have made considerable progress in opening up government data. Our data.gov.uk portal has enabled us to identify and open up over 27,000 publicly held data sets, fuelling the development of innovative apps, new insights for public service delivery and greater government transparency.

Doing this has clearly shown the potential for value creation and enhanced public services, as more and more data is made available. The act of opening up data itself improves quality, as data users and publishers respond to incentives to improve it.

Having made this progress, there is now more we can do within government to make better use of the data assets we have, and to make more, better quality data openly and freely available, in order to drive service improvement, economic growth and transparency. To do that, we need to modernise our data infrastructure, and engage actively with data users to understand the demand for open data, as described in the parallel commitments. We also need to overcome legal and organisational barriers that prevent effective data use within the public sector for clearly defined purposes in the public interest, while being clear that identifiable data will never be made open and strict controls will govern the use of any such data. And we need to build the skills and capabilities to make best use of the data we hold.

Ambition

Better use of data across government will drive up data quality, in turn improving the quality and reliability of the data we are able to make freely and openly available.

As a result of this work, we expect to see:

  • government increasingly re-using its own data to 
enable better operational, policy and economic 
decisions and drive up data quality 

  • better cross-government platforms and improved 
services for citizens 

  • better quality data available for innovation in the 
economy and wider society 

  • more accessible open data that is easy for citizens and 
civil society groups, as well as businesses and large 
organisations, to use
  • clear ethical and legal frameworks to build public 
support for the better use of data in government 


Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service) and Office of National Statistics

Timeline

May 2016 to June 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

All government departments

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

Democratise, mySociety, The Open Data institute

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Pursue legislative changes to enable better access to government data for defined purposes across organisational boundaries in public services and between different levels of government working with internal and external experts and consulting with the public at key stages Ongoing February 2016 June 2018
Publish departmental data plans for improving data quality, opening up more data and ensuring continuing engagement with external stakeholders New May 2016 October 2016
Monitor and publish progress against departmental data plans New October 2016 June 2018
Help non-data specialist policy and operational staff across government to understand analytical approaches and the transformational power of data New April 2016 June 2018
Equip government analysts with the latest data science tools and skills, through a programme of work led by the Office for National Statistics New April 2016 June 2018
Showcase best practice in data science through cross government projects, finding opportunities to bring in external expertise to inform the design and delivery of the projects New April 2016 June 2018

Commitment 12: GOV.UK

Assess opportunities for digital consultation tools, rebuild navigation to bring guidance and policy together by topic, provide APIs for government content and provide a full version history of every published page.

Objective

Use GOV.UK to help all of government become more participative, open and accountable to its users.

Status quo

Centralising all government web publishing to GOV.UK has already radically improved access to information and public accountability. Information including departmental plans, transparency data and public consultations is now more consistently presented and easier to find in a single place.

But there is enormous potential to do more. The vision for GOV.UK over the next two parliaments is to make government work for users - using the opportunity of a single shared platform to increase openness, accountability and civic participation right across government.

Ambition

While GOV.UK has become the best place to find government services and information, it’s not yet the best place it can be. GOV.UK has brought government web presences together and we now need to ensure that it really does work for all users and this means, among many other things, ensuring that government is participative, open and accountable.

Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office (Government Digital Service)

Timeline

May 2016 to March 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

All government departments

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

Democratic Society, Involve, Natural Resource Governance Institute, The Open Data Institute

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Complete a discovery project to identify opportunities for improved digital consultation tools, identifying next steps New May 2016 September 2016
Improve tagging, navigation, search and notification systems on GOV.UK, so publishers can begin to join together related content (including both guidance and policy) and transactions as coherent services New April 2016 March 2017
Provide APIs for government content New April 2017 March 2018
Provide a full version history of every published page New April 2017 March 2018

Commitment 13: Ongoing collaborative approach to open government reform

Identify, develop and implement robust and ambitious open government commitments on an ongoing basis through collaboration with partners in governments, parliaments and civil society across the UK.

Objective

Ensure the UK Open Government Partnership (OGP) remains a key platform for ongoing dialogue, collaboration and open government reform, with governments, parliaments and civil society across the UK.

Status quo

The development of this action plan has again demonstrated the benefits of an open and collaborative approach to policy making. Through working with partners from government, Parliament and civil society across the UK, the plan has benefited from a large range of ideas, challenge, expertise, creativity and energy. The result is a more ambitious and comprehensive set of commitments than would have been developed by government alone. The OGP has helped to inspire and focus government and civil society collaboration on open government reform in the UK. However, the two-year timescale of an action plan can mean that:

  • the political or policy window for potential commitments is missed 

  • activity and collaboration happens in bursts rather than consistently 

  • the OGP process happens in parallel to other domestic or multilateral processes 


We want to address these weaknesses and build on the success of the OGP in the UK by embedding an ongoing collaborative approach to open government reform. 


Ambition

As well as being the beneficiaries of open government, citizens and civil society are key to bringing the transformation about. We want the OGP in the UK to be the platform for ongoing dialogue, collaboration and open government reform, and this partnership to include increasing numbers of citizens, civil society organisations and public institutions. To support this we will:

  • be approaching this action plan as a rolling plan, where new commitments are developed and added over its lifespan
  • continue to work collaboratively across governments, parliaments and the wider public sector in all nations of the UK 

  • broaden engagement with civil society and citizens to ensure that we are focussing efforts on issues that matter most 

  • engage with civil society and citizens on an ongoing basis, having honest conversations about progress across open government and collaboratively identifying, developing and implementing new reforms 


Lead implementing organisation

Cabinet Office and Involve

Timeline

May 2016 to June 2018

OGP values

Access to information, Civic participation, Public accountability, Technology and innovation

New or ongoing commitment

New

Other actors involved - government

UK government departments and UK Parliament In consultation with colleagues in Northern Ireland Executive, Scottish Government and Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly

Other actors involved - CSOs, private sector, working groups, multilaterals etc

UK Open Government Network, National Council of Voluntary Organisation (NCVO)

Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date
Government and civil society will work together to develop and communicate an approach to implementation that supports transparency on progress of implementing commitments and provides forums for engagement at all levels to hold government to account New May 2016 July 2016
We will identify priority stakeholders and policy areas to inform an approach to broadening engagement and the priority focus for future commitments, including identifying platforms for communicating open government policy New June 2016 September 2016
The UK Open Government Civil Society Network will review its governance, terms of reference and working practices to ensure that it is able to continue to effectively build, involve and represent a broad membership New June 2016 September 2016
Commitments will be updated with new milestones as necessary to provide further clarity on agreed approaches to take work forward work New June 2016 June 2018
New commitments will be published at a minimum of two points in the two-year plan cycle. These will be developed through a co-creation process with civil society, meeting the OGP criteria for starred commitments New June 2016 June 2018