Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to promote the use of the Unique Property Reference Numbers and Unique Street Reference Numbers that were released as open data in July in (1) the public sector, and (2) the private sector.

The Geospatial Commission has released the Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRN) and Unique Street Reference Numbers (USRN) free of charge, as part of its updated contract with Ordnance Survey. UPRNs and USRNs are critical identifiers in linking housing, planning, infrastructure and construction data in particular.

In order to promote their common usage, the Open Standards Board, part of the Government Digital Service, has mandated that UPRNs and USRNs are used in all public sector data sets that reference properties and streets. In parallel, the Geospatial Commission, Ordnance Survey, Geoplace, the Improvement Service Scotland and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government continue to undertake an extensive process of engagement with creators and users of geospatial data in both the public and private sectors. This includes a programme of presentations, webinars, newsletters, specialist blogs and best practice guides.