ADDress data experts have called for an independent study into a
national land and property database following concerns that a
significant proportion of its data may be inaccurate.
The National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) will underpin the
National Land Information Service (NLIS) - an online search
facility for land and property information.
Earlier this month software suppliers and local authority IT
professionals claimed that 20% of the data in the NLPG could be
inaccurate. Both Intelligent Addressing - the supplier helping
local authorities to feed data into the system - and joint NLIS
project leader Local Government Information House denied this.
Intelligent Addressing has insisted that data in the NLPG is
overwhelmingly accurate. The entire NLPG achieved a 97% match rate
against land registry records, it said. However, the company has
refused to reveal details of its survey.
"You have got no way of judging their claims about the NLPG until
it is opened up to independent testing and scrutiny," said Bob
Barr, senior lecturer in geographic IS at Manchester University.
"No one knows whether it is better or worse than what we had
before."
Robert James, a consultant in address data management, said an
independent examination of the NLPG could be carried out by an
accountancy firm or computer industry body, given the necessary
technical support.
Intelligent Addressing would not comment on whether it would allow
an independent survey into the NLPG. It said that its customers
were satisfied with the database and that quality control
arrangements were mandatory.