Hydrographic Office

Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many private sector stakeholders the team carrying out the review into the UK Hydrographic Office’s structure and ownership have met during the course of their work.

Mr. Bob Ainsworth
The study team and its consultants have met with a range of stakeholders, including two trade associations representing private sector companies, and 14 other private sector industry participants. These include Original Equipment Manufacturers of ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems), distributors of navigational products, shipping fleet operators, UKHO survey data re-users and finance specialists.

The review was also informed by a range of other information derived from the private sector. These include the UKHO’s own quarterly surveys of 250 end users of the UKHO’s products, papers from international conferences and fora, and published market analyses.