About Find open data

Since 2010 data.gov.uk has been helping people to find and use open government data, and supporting government publishers to maintain data. In March 2018, we re-designed the site and launched the Find open data service.

What’s on Find open data

You can find:

  • data published by central government, local authorities and public bodies
  • links to download data files
  • help on creating an account to publish data

How Find open data and policy work together

Better data can help inform better policy-making and continuous improvement of services. Departments can combat fraud and reduce waste.

By taking ethical, open, innovative and transparent approaches to data we can build greater levels of trust with citizens, whilst delivering more cost-effective and better targeted and tailored services to their needs.

Data is at the heart of digital transformation and a part of the Government Transformation Strategy.

GDS works with other organisations both within and outside government on shaping the strategic direction on how data is managed, accessed and used. We work collaboratively on a range of issues with the Office for National Statistics, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and The National Cyber Security Centre.

Reuse information published on Find open data

You can republish any of the content on Find open data, as long as you meet the conditions of either the Open Government Licence or the licence it's covered by. For questions about a dataset, you can contact the publisher directly if they’ve provided contact details on the relevant dataset page.

Linking to datasets on GOV.UK

Data is integral to our work to transform government. Organisations can publish data on Find open data by linking to datasets published on GOV.UK. To help organisations prepare and publish data on GOV.UK, we have some recommendations for publishing: