Minutes of the 47 th
meeting of the
Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information
Date:
Time:
19 June 2015
14:00-16:00
The National Archives, Kew, Richmond Venue:
Attendees: Chair
Members
Phillip Webb
Bob Barr
Paul Longley
Michael Jennings
Hugh Neffendorf
Hilary Newiss
Bill Oates
Shane O ’Neill
Expert Member
Expert Member
Expert Member
Expert Member
Expert Member
Representative Member for Wales
Expert Member
Former Chairman
Expert Member
Expert Member
David Rhind
Patricia Seex
Dean White
Nonmembers
Marcia Jackson
Beth Watson
Archives
Head of Information Management, The National
Archives
APPSI Secretariat (minutes)
1. Welcome, Apologies and Minutes of the last meeting
1.1. Phillip welcomed members to the meeting and congratulated Bill on his new role as Chief Data
Scientist at the Office for National Statistics.
1.2. Apologies were received from Keith Dugmore, David Lammey, Duncan Macniven and Michael
Nicholson. Phillip passed on David’s regrets that he could not attend this final meeting and passed on his best wishes.
1.3. Phillip explained that he and David Rhind had taken the decision to publish the minutes of the
February meeting rather than delay until after this meeting, but it was still possible for amendments to be made if members wished.
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2. APPSI History and Impact Paper
Members agreed that David’s paper should be published on the website as soon as possible. It should subsequently be circulated to former APPSI members, speakers and meeting attendees, and any other interested parties, together with a statement on the winding up of APPSI, and possibly information on any plans for an information consultative group (see item 5). This statement should be prepared for publication on APPSI’s website towards the end of September.
ACTION: The secretariat to consult TNA’s media and communications team on the drafting of a statement.
ACTION: members to forward the names and contact details of those who they think should receive a copy of the paper and statement to the secretariat.
3. Update on current PSI issues and the implementation of the new legislation
3.1. Carol updated members on progress on transposition of the new PSI Directive. It was currently being considered by the Home Affairs Cabinet Committee after being cleared by Dominic Raab,
Minister of State for Human Rights, who is the minister with responsibility for TNA. It was expected to receive final agreement within a week. TNA was keeping stakeholders informed through the steering board and contact groups, and was also working with the ICO and Scottish
ICO on complaints handling.
In response to a question from the Chairman, about progress across Europe, Carol said that
Malcolm Todd had attended a meeting with representatives of other member states before the
General Election. Three countries stated that they had already transposed but the EU
Commission did not agree. Malcolm thought it likely that Belgium and The Netherlands, like the
UK, were on track to meet the 18 July deadline and it was possible that a number of other states would also meet it.
Members were concerned about the difficulties some cultural and research institutions were having in defining their public task, and that there may have been a lack of guidance on this from the centre. Carol explained that there had been a number of workshops for institutions and
Marcia’s team had also had meetings with them on an individual basis. They had been encouraged to look at ways in which they could make the new system work for them and to draw on models that were already in place. For most it would be business as usual following transposition. She was interested in the suggestion from the Chairman that TNA approach the
Charity Commission who were looking for partners to help in the production of guidance for charities.
3.2. Carol informed members that Matthew Hancock, the new Minister for the Cabinet Office, had moved the remit for OD across government to Mike Bracken, Head of the Government Digital
Service (GDS). It was also possible that data.gov.uk would move across to GDS and members agreed that this would make sense given GDS’s coherent view of government as a series of platforms for the delivery of services.
3.3. The Cabinet Office had produced a paper on future governance of PSI and OD, including recommendations for what could replace bodies such as the Transparency Boards and ODUG that had been wound up at the election, and was awaiting a response from Mr Hancock.
4. Complaints
Marcia informed members that Weekend 365 had requested an internal review of her team’s handling of a complaint against Ordnance Survey (OS). However, it was unlikely that this would be referred to APPSI as the issues that the company had had with OS had been resolved.
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TNA were doubtful that any further complaints would be received before transposition of the new
PSI directive as potential complainants were likely to wait until the new regulatory regime was introduced. If a complaint had not already been received by 18 July, it could not be referred to
APPSI.
5. Future Consultations with the Third Sector
Members considered Malcolm Todd’s short paper which set out possible mechanisms by which
The National Archives could continue to consult with the private and third sectors on PSI and OD issues.
They recognised that it would not be possible to recreate APPSI and that much would depend on the future direction and shape of Government, but they were keen to ensure that any future forum or informal consultative group still had the opportunity to discuss and debate ideas and proposals, e.g. through workshops on proposed legislation. It was also important that participants understood the aims of any new consultation, and that there was a mechanism in place to ensure that their contributions and views would reach senior officials and/or Ministers.
Phillip noted that the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs have lists of experts and interested parties who they call on to take part in workshops on specific issues.
This has proved a very effective way for the departments to obtain the views and advice they need and, because the workshops have a focus, members also feel their input has made a difference.
Carol confirmed that, whatever shape a future consultative group took, participation would be voluntary and that volunteers would not be restricted in speaking out on issues on a personal basis. In terms of how to develop a wide pool of suitable participants, Bob drew attention to the
Department for Communities and Local Gove rnment’s expert group on economic and regional analysis, where the department contacts potential members on the recommendation of the convenor, as one possible approach.
Phillip agreed to redraft Malcolm’s paper to include the points members had raised with the aim of producing a model that individuals would consider signing up to. A final version could also be passed to GDS to make sure that they were aware that there had been some consideration given to the idea of group that could serve as a government-aide resource.
ACTION: Phillip to redraft the papers and circulate to members for comment.
6. Outstanding Transition Requirements
6.1.
Following a conversation with TNA’s web team, the secretariat had been reassured that none of the content of the APPSI webpages would be removed until APPSI agreed that they could be taken down.
6.2. Members were concerned that UK Government Web Archive only captured webpages in a piecemeal way but Marcia reassured them that its regular sweeps catch all information on a website at the time it is done. Members were therefore content for the APPSI webpages to be archived in this way, provided that a page remained on the TNA website which redirected visitors to the Web Archive.
6.3. Members asked the secretariat to ensure that the website was completely up-to-date by transposition (18 th
July) and that information on the transitional arrangements to be added to the homepage.
ACTION: Secretariat to work with the guidance editor to make all of the necessary changes to the website by 18 July.
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6.4. Members asked that a press release be prepared for publication in October to announce that
APPSI would cease to operate. This should include reference to the Impact of APPSI document, the location of the glossary and link to the web archive. If possible it could also cover any plans for how TNA and the Government would seek to consult and obtain expert advice in the future.
ACTION: Secretariat to discuss proposals for a press statement/news story with TNA’s marketing and communications team.
7. Wash-up and close
7.1 Phillip thanked members and TNA for their contributions and support over the years.
7.2 There being no other business the meeting was closed.
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