Corporate report

Geospatial Commission Board of Commissioner’s Meeting Minutes, 24 May 2022

Published 3 August 2022

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Geospatial Commission Board of Commissioner’s Meeting Minutes, 24 May 2022

Google Meet

11.00 - 13.00

Attendees

Commissioners: Bernard Silverman (Chair), Nigel Clifford (Deputy Chair), Steve Unger, Louise Heathwaite, Edwina Dunn

Nominated Commissioners: Peter Sparkes

Commission Unit: Thalia Baldwin, Jamie Clark, Chris Chambers, Joe Cuddeford, Ros Goodfellow, Catherine Young, Kevin Yue, Mehul Doshi, Callum Adams, Arif Islam (Minutes by: Aftab Khan)

Observers: Albert King (Scotland), Glyn Jones (Wales), Jim Lennon (Northern Ireland), Fiona James (ONS)

Apologies: Alex Notay and Karen Hanghøj

External Speaker: Hamish Trench, Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission

1. Minutes and Matters Arising

The board welcomed Professor Louise Heathwaite who was appointed as a Commissioner in April 2022. Professor Heathwaite introduced herself, and highlighted her background in diffuse environmental pollution and environmental management and her interest in the current land use programme in particular.

Apologies were received from Karen Hanghøj and Alex Notay.

The minutes from the March board meeting were agreed and approved for publication.

2. Report from the Nominated Commissioners

Peter Sparkes gave an update on behalf of the Partner Bodies following their meeting on Monday 16 May. The points raised included:

• The opportunity that the value of data work presents and is seen as an area where the Geospatial Commission can add significant value to support the better provision of foundational data by the public sector. The Partner Bodies are keen to work closely with the Commission on this as it moves towards publication later in the year.
• The Partner Bodies welcomed the progress on the Commission’s thinking about land use and property data. They are keen to make sure that the work is well integrated across government and that it both takes into account, and is accounted for, in the wider work that government is undertaking in relation to land use.
• The Cambridge Conference hosted by the Ordnance Survey took place in April. The event was attended by national mapping and geospatial agencies, with around 20 nations represented in person along with the representatives from the UN, with a further 15 participating online. The focus of the event was on how geospatial can support the response to climate change.
• Partner Bodies thanked the Commission for sharing an initial draft of its Annual Plan and reiterated their offer for the Commission to continue to draw on the Partner Bodies’ collective expertise. Thalia thanked the Partner Bodies for their continued support and their input and feedback that had been provided to date through the various fora.

3. Report from the Director of the Commission

Thalia provided a verbal update on some of the key areas of focus for the Commission since the March board meeting. The update covered:

• The Commission publishing the NUAR consultation seeking views on the future model for  NUAR. A good number of responses have been received. Jim Lennon agreed to help promote the consultation in Northern Ireland from where more responses would be beneficial.

• The Commission will shortly be looking to publish the co-funded piece of research that has been undertaken by the Satellite Applications Catapult on the potential opportunities offered through better use of Earth Observation (EO) data. This research will help to inform the Commission’s emerging policy thinking on EO. Thalia thanked the Partner Bodies for their engagement in the research.

4. Value of Data Update

Kevin Yue gave an overview of the work currently underway to produce and develop guidance on measuring the economic, social and environmental value of location data, as well as the intended timelines for engagement activities and publication dates.

The Board thanked Kevin for the update. The Board agreed with the key challenges of capturing and measuring indirect and/or intangible benefits. The Board encouraged the team to think about how these intangible benefits could be captured and recognised through the guidance. The Board was also interested in what we could learn from international partners in this complex area.

Kevin thanked the Board for their views which would be considered ahead of publication.

5. Improving the UK’s land use data capability

Joe Cuddeford provided an update on the National Land Data Programme (NLDP). Our strategic objectives for the current phase of the programme (until June 2023) are:

1. Demonstrate the value of enhancing the UK’s spatial modelling capability to inform land use scenario planning.
2. Deliver a blueprint for the capability improvements required to improve spatial modelling for land use strategy, including: data, technologies, skills and partnerships.

The Board discussed the potential scope of the programme and the mechanism by which the land use data could be used to support government priorities, and considered how the Commission could cover capabilities in the private sector, taking into account where the limits are.

Partner Bodies are keen to be involved in supporting the NLDP.

6. Expert Speaker: Hamish Trench, Chief Executive, Scottish Land Commission

Hamish Trench is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission, and also sits on the Expert Group for NLDP. He is also a member of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission’s Land Use National Group.

Mr Trench provided the Board with an overview of the work of the Scottish Land Commission, which included the  land use challenges that existed in Scotland. The Board discussed how the use of data, especially spatial modelling techniques, are currently being used and how they could be better used to weigh up land use scenarios at different spatial scales.

The board thanked Hamish for a fascinating presentation.

7. Location Data Ethics Guidance Publication

Callum Adams provided an update on the location data ethics programme, and talked through the initial draft policy paper that was shared with the Board for comment. Callum concluded by setting out the indicative timeline and activities for publication of the ethics policy paper.

The Board thanked Callum for the update. The Board discussed the key audience for this document and how that would impact the purpose and promotion of the document. The Board also discussed alignment with other areas of government that are currently looking at data ethics to ensure that different publications align and support one another. The Board also mentioned the complexity of differing rules and principles internationally, which particularly impacts multinational organisations.

The Board suggested the Commission consider publishing case studies in the future to show how organisations manage these complex ethical considerations.

8. Any Other Business

The Board was requested to feed back any comments on the Annual Plan so that these could be incorporated prior to seeking Ministerial approval.

The July board meeting will be held in person in Southampton.

The Board wished farewell to Edwina as this was her last meeting as a Commissioner, thanking her for her insight and expert contribution.