data.gov.uk | Opening up government

The UK Government is releasing public data to help people understand how government works and how policies are made. Some of this data is already available, but data.gov.uk brings it together in one searchable website. Making this data easily available means it will be easier for people to make decisions and suggestions about government policies based on detailed information. There are currently over 5,400 datasets available, from all central government departments and a number of other public sector bodies and local authorities. From data.gov.uk, you can access the raw data driving government forward. This can then be used by people to build useful applications that help society, or investigate how effective policy changes have been over time. General public information - such as how to find out if you are entitled to tax credits, or how to tax your car - can be found at DirectGov ou can use the data in all sorts of ways. This may be simply to analyse trends over time from one policy area, or to compare how different parts of government go about their work. Technical users will be able to create useful applications out of the raw data files, which can then be used by everyone.