Cutting the Gordon knot!

Published : 07 December 2009

We must freely admit to a touch of guilt -  for expressing some slight cynicism (however artfully veiled!) -  in The Walls of Jericho last week.

Gordon Brown has now added his own - and very definitive - trumpet to that of Tim Berners Lee and the barriers to free availability of public data have been razed to the ground. Or at least will be by 1st April 2010.  

The free availability of Public Sector Information has become a central pillar

 of the Smarter Government agenda (see right).

 Yes, there are a number of substantive "details" to be sorted out. Such as:

• where will the costs fall?
• what will be the impact on existing businesses in established marketplaces of government data, hitherto charged for, becoming free?
• what will be the impact on data quality with no recycling of commercial revenues?
• how will the Tradng Funds pay for their statutory functions?
• is 'the juice really worth the squeeze' in economic terms ?

All good questions - but in a sense now rendered problems to be resolved, rather than issues to be debated.  That debate has been long - we have had  the CUPI Report, the Cambridge Report, the Power of Information report, the Digital Britain Report, the appointment of Berners Lee,  and now Smarter Government  with its unambiguous pronouncement.

And as with all ex cathedra pronouncements, the theological debate is now closed and the transition into canonical law must take place. Gordon has left the details to his civil servants - they must sort out the difficult and hitherto intractable issues and quickly.

The Prime Minister has cut a very Gordon knot!