Government elects to keep UK postcodes as non-public data
Postcode Address File Remains Closed Following Royal Mail Privatisation
Following Royal Mail's privatisation, the Postcode Address File (PAF) remains a key dataset managed by Royal Mail, but it is not released as open data. There have been calls for PAF to be made openly available, notably from the Open Data Institute and Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, advocating for greater transparency and public access to address data.
PAF continues to be maintained and licensed by Royal Mail, serving as the authoritative source of UK postal addresses. Its use remains under commercial licensing agreements rather than open data terms, limiting public free access. The calls by the Open Data Institute and government figures highlight an interest in potential reform but have not yet translated into a policy or legal framework to make PAF open data.
The Postcode Address File, a database containing the postcode of every property in the UK, is a valuable resource for approximately 37,000 third-party organizations, including businesses, which use it for data quality management, online address capture, insurance premium calculation, and market research.
Nigel Shadbolt, chair of the Open Data Institute, considers the PAF to be the most requested data set. He suggests that the Royal Mail privatisation could be used to maximise the economic advantage of the PAF dataset. However, current policy preserves its controlled, licensed status following privatisation.
Ofcom is currently holding a consultation on what constitutes a "reasonable" cost for the PAF license. The decision on PAF does not oblige Royal Mail to release it as open data as a private company. Royal Mail is currently obligated to make the PAF available to anyone who wishes to use it under reasonable terms, charging users a licensing fee for maintenance costs.
Gavin Starks, ODI chief executive, has criticised the decision, stating it contradicts the UK's commitments to open data. He was asked to hold the government accountable on its commitment to Open Data regarding the PAF. Despite the ongoing debate, no recent search results explicitly document a policy shift or announcement post-privatisation that would alter this status, indicating that the future plans for PAF remain as a proprietary source under Royal Mail control despite calls for liberation to open data.
- Businesses, amongst other third-party organizations, find the Postcode Address File valuable, using it for tasks such as data quality management and market research.
- The calls for greater transparency towards the Postcode Address File, especially from the Open Data Institute and government figures, suggest an interest in reforming its proprietary status, yet no policy or legal framework has been established to make it open data, even after Royal Mail's privatization.
