The marginal cost restriction on public sector data re-use - responding to the call for evidence

The marginal cost restriction on public sector data re-use — responding to the government's call for evidence

Open by default has been the settled position for public sector data in this country for well over a decade. The Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 limit what most public bodies can charge for re-using their data to the marginal cost of providing it — which, for anything digital, is effectively nothing. That restriction is one of the reasons so much public data is simply there, freely available under the Open Government Licence, ready to be combined with anything else.

The UK Government is now asking whether that should change. Its call for evidence explores whether public bodies should be able to charge above marginal cost for a wider range of data assets, to reinvest the revenue in data infrastructure, data quality and public services. The argument is that many public bodies lack the funding and the incentive to make good data available, and that charging could fix both. The counter-argument, familiar to anyone who has been around open data long enough, is that charging narrows the field of who can use data to those who can afford it, breaks the interoperability that comes from a single licence, and shifts value away from the wider public benefit that free re-use generates.

Both of these positions deserve evidence rather than assertion, and that is precisely what is being asked for.

The call for evidence sets out nine questions covering the impact of the current rules, whether charging above marginal cost is appropriate and under what conditions, four proposed design principles for any reform, and possible legal routes to delivering it. It is worth being clear about scope: it does not propose new powers to disclose data that cannot currently be disclosed, and it does not touch rights of access under freedom of information or data protection law. What is in question are the terms on which already-accessible data is made available for re-use.

What we'll cover

We'll start with an overview of the call for evidence — what is being proposed, how the existing exemptions already work, and how this connects to the Public Sector Data Valuation Framework and the Industrial Strategy. We are pleased that the call for evidence lead will be joining us to give context on the thinking behind it and to take questions directly. We'll then look at how to write a response that carries weight: how to use concrete examples of data you rely on or have been unable to get, which of the nine questions are worth your effort, and how to make an argument that a policy team can actually work with. The rest of the session is for questions and open discussion.

Who this is for

Anyone who uses, publishes or depends on public sector data — civic technologists, researchers, journalists, community organisations, businesses building on open data, and public sector data teams weighing this up from the inside. Whatever view you hold, this is a decision that will be shaped by who takes the time to respond. The call for evidence can be found here.