The INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) directive has the aim of improving the availability of spatial datasets (including geographical data) held by, or on behalf of, the public sector, for the purposes of Community environmental policies, and policies or activities which may have an effect on the environment.
The directive will be accompanied by a series of implementing rules (IR) which will frame the practical implementation and operation of the directive. Ordnance Survey continues to provide experts to support UK engagement with the development of the IRs. Until these are adopted and operational it is not possible to be definitive on what information will be required to be made available through INSPIRE-compliant information services.
Ordnance Survey's responsibilities as the national mapping agency of Great Britain are not changed by the INSPIRE directive. It will continue to be responsible for the official, definitive surveying and topographic mapping of Great Britain, as defined in its Public Task and Framework Document.
Since the INSPIRE directive makes provision for member states to allow public sector information holders to make charges for the use of their data, Ordnance Survey's new business strategy, announced in the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) alongside the Budget, is unaffected.