The Locus Association welcomes yesterday’s announcement that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have commissioned a review into the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office’s (UKHO) status as a Trading Fund.   In a statement endorsed by the  Under Secretary of State for Defence, Derek Twigg MP, the department announced that they will be reviewing “whether the delivery of the UKHO’s strategy to create a sustainable and credible presence in the digital marketplace is best supported by the current trading fund model, or whether an alternative structure for some or all”.

The review will consider a range of UKHO structural options against a series of criteria including:

§         Delivery of defence and safety of life at sea

§         Maintaining appropriate relationships with the international hydrographic community

§         Value for money for the UK taxpayer

The review will be led by a small team in the MoD in liaison with UKHO and is expected to conclude towards the end of 2007.

Michael Nicholson, Locus Chairman, said “Locus is delighted that the Ministry of Defence has recognised that the UKHO Trading Fund business model should be reviewed independently and not in conjunction with other Trading Funds.  The UKHO has specific challenges and also some unique opportunities with a worldwide client base relying on its data management and production skills.  Locus would encourage the Minister to take full account of the ongoing needs of both users and value-added data resellers in his review.  This is an important market-place for public information and, whatever the outcome of the Minister’s review, a level-competitive playing field should be ensured in future”.

He added, “Locus looks forward to more government departments recognising the challenges that Trading Funds in their policy areas face and to these departments announcing similar reviews in due course”.

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 Notes for Editors:

·          1. Locus was established in autumn 2005 and formally launched on 26^th January 2006. The Association’s President is a former Director General of the OFT and Oftel, Sir Bryan Carsberg.

§         2. The Association exists to raise awareness of, and promote the development of, a healthy and competitive private sector in relation to PSI. Locus acts as a forum for exchange of information, keeps its members up to date with latest policy developments, and provides advice and guidance. Our members recognise the potential of PSI, but also the benefit of uniting to address some of the challenges and pooling resources to meet them. It is worth noting that the particular nature of the PSI market structure, where individual private sector organisations have limited influence, lends itself to the development of a trade body.

§         3.  The Ministry of Defence announced on 8^th February 2007 that it has commissioned a study to review the Trading Fund status of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, which will report towards the end of 2007.

§         4. The UKHO has been charting the world's oceans for over 200 years and its primary activity, as a Government Trading Fund and part of the Ministry of Defence, is the provision of navigational products and services to the Royal Navy and merchant marine in compliance with Safety Of Life Sea (SOLAS) regulations.

·          Enquiries: Harriet Crosthwaite: 020 7930 9788 or harriet@quintuspa.com