Getting it right from the start - address data policy principles

Efforts to develop and deploy data standards for local government have taken on a new momentum in recent months – and GeoPlace is providing resources to ensure these extend to address and street data.

It reflects the importance of standards in enabling councils to realise the full value of the data they hold in

Data standards have been well championed by the Local Government Association (LGA), which has been instrumental in the development and adoption of data standards to enhance local service delivery. Through its Better Use of Data Programme, the LGA offers a range of free support to help councils recognise the full value of data and utilise it effectively for decision making.

Importance of UPRNs and USRNs

Two key assets in local authority data are the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN), and Unique Street Reference Number (USRN), the unique identifiers for every addressable location and street in Great Britain. These were mandated by the Open Standards Board in 2020 to be used by government in referencing and sharing information about properties and streets, and are a core feature of data standards for local government.

GeoPlace, the organisation that manages UPRNs and USRNs at a national level, spreads awareness of the foundational role of these identifiers in enabling cross-organisational data to be linked and analysed at a very granular level. As the LGA says, the UPRN is “is key to almost everything that’s delivered or achieved by councils”.

A recent GeoPlace survey of all local authorities revealed that only 42% have a clear policy in place mandating the use of UPRNs within their systems. Even where such policies are in place, they are often not fully implemented at the key software procurement stage, creating a barrier to effective use of the authority’s own data.

At a wider scale, the LGA’s Local government data capacity survey highlighted that 53% of responding councils did not have a general data strategy currently in place, further highlighting the need for common standards.

An effective data strategy

As part of their work to support the utilisation of UPRNs and USRNs in the sector, GeoPlace has published a set of policy principles to enable the effective use of address data in local authority software systems, based on the Open Group Architecture Framework format and including a template for their adoption.

The principles provide a structured approach to integrating the UPRN into systems, ensuring accurate, efficient, and consistent use of property information across departments. They have attracted the support of the LGA and Socitm, who recognise that data standards and the ability to harness data improves public services.

The primary high level principle is that all council systems referencing property information MUST use the UPRN as a necessary step towards making full use of the data. It is underpinned by five sub-principles:

The template goes into more detail on each of these, making clear the behaviour/requirement being applied, the rationale of why it is important for a local authority to implement, and implications of what needs to happen to achieve the principle. It also explains that it is possible to adapt the principles or use them in part as necessary for an authority.

Overall, the document is intended as technical guidance, giving local authorities the practical framework and detail required to adopt the principles in a way that suits them and fits with their existing policies or broader strategic principles.

The principles within the document were explored in a recent techUK webinar ‘Harnessing data to improve local public services’ with the LGA and Socitm, looking at actionable steps to support the effective use of address data and the UPRN.

Further support for local authorities is available in the form of guidance on the procurement of software for key service areas which use, or could make better use of, UPRNs and USRNs. A data integration toolkit is also available.

The procurement guide has been developed from engagement with local authorities and includes two sets of questions and considerations for address and street gazetteers. They look at areas that include compliance with data standards, integration capabilities, spatial data consumption and interoperability, compliance with relevant local authority policies, application functionality and liaison with GeoPlace.

These can be adapted to the specific requirements of a council and should be used in conjunction with its wider strategies and technology platforms.

The UPRN integration toolkit provides local authority service managers with a series of questions to ask about the role of address data and UPRNs in their service areas and the systems used. The answers will feed into a grading of how well integrated the systems are with the UPRN and its ability to facilitate data linking for a range of purposes. They can also highlight areas to focus on to improve the capability for integration.

Public sector IT association Socitm has recently published its Public Sector Digital Trends 2025 research, which highlights ‘harnessing data’ as a key focus point and recognises that the impact of AI depends on data quality and governance; areas which these policy principles and resources are set to enhance.

With increasing pressure on local authorities to do more with less, effective use of their existing data assets is crucial to enable more joined up decision making and efficient use of resources. UPRNs can play a key role in this, and it is vital that data policies support their effective integration.

For more information on the use of UPRNs in local authority systems, email [email protected].

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