The data you require, or similar data, may already exist within your own organisation but it may need to be geocoded. Many commercial companies produce spatial data and it may be quicker and better value to purchase such data rather than collect it yourself.

When considering using spatial data collected by others it's important to consider the quality of the data and its limitations. Such information should be available in the metadata.

Questions include:

Is the data collected at the appropriate scale for your application? For example, a postal address could provide sufficient spatial accuracy to deliver letters, but calculating land valuation requires much more precise boundary definition.
If the data has been aggregated, is this appropriate for your application? For example, a ward-based dataset cannot then be used to analyse data at Primary Care Trust (PCT) level.
Is the data spatially accurate?
Temporal issues: is the data current?
Is the data complete? Are there any erroneous attributes?
Is the data consistent? For example, are naming conventions consistent? Do features of the same type have the same descriptive data?

Statistics and other area attribute data

A large number of data holders report statistics and other attributes for area units such as government office regions, local authorities, wards and super output areas or for postcode locations such as unit postcodes, postcode sectors and postcode areas.

Office for National Statistics

"The Office for National Statistics produces independent information to improve our understanding of the UK's economy and society."

The ONS website gives free access to data produced by the Office for National Statistics. This includes data on the economy, labour market and population estimates.

Neighbourhood Statistics

The Neighbourhood Statistics enable users to search for data by type and geographic area for a wide range of topics including census data, population, housing, crime, education, Indices of Multiple Deprivation, and more. Data can be viewed online and downloaded into Excel or CSV format for use in GIS software.

Census 2001

The Census 2001 site is part of the Office for National Statistics and is dedicated to the results from the 2001 census of England and Wales.

Indices of Multiple Deprivation

Indices of Multiple Deprivation data for England (2000, 2004 and 2007).

Geodemographics

Socio-economic data is used by a number of commercial vendors who combine census information with other datasets to produce neighbourhood profiles classifying particular areas for marketing purposes.

This ability to recognise particular markets based on geographical socio-economic and lifestyle datasets is called geodemographics.

Data vendors include Experian and CACI but many others exist. Free area profiles are available from the Office for National Statistics based on the 2001 census in the form of area classifications. These are available at local authority, ward, health areas, super output areas and output areas.

National licence agreements

A number of national licence agreements exist for the provision of spatial data:

Pan Government Agreement (PGA)

Over 110 central government departments are able to access and use Ordnance Survey geographical information through the Pan Government Agreement (PGA). The PGA is managed on behalf of central government by the Intra-Governmental Group on Geographical Information.

In general terms, membership of the agreement is open to organisations that employ civil servants. The range of potentially eligible organisations is broad and includes crown and non-crown bodies, government departments, executive agencies and sponsored bodies. It does not include National Health Service organisations (strategic health authorities, unit trusts, primary care trusts and ambulance trusts).

Mapping Services Agreement

More than 500 local government organisations are able to access the latest Ordnance Survey digital mapping and geographic data through the mapping services agreement.

Topographic, address and integrated transport network data are among the wide range of products available for use in providing better front-line services, reducing local government costs and improving local and strategic decision-making. The agreement covers all district, county and unitary councils, metropolitan borough councils, London boroughs, national park authorities and some emergency services – notably local police and fire services.

NHS Digital Mapping Data Agreement

The NHS Digital Mapping Data Agreement has been developed to provide the NHS with a sector wide digital mapping agreement and act as a key resource for unlocking answers to highly detailed geographical problems.

The agreement has been used for supporting strategic decision making, the identification of health inequalities, causal analysis and trends. These factors can guide strategic decisions on the targeting of services to clinical hotspots, investment priorities, the extension of patient choice and the supply of public health information. Ordnance Survey provided a pilot agreement, and Dotted Eyes now provide the full agreement.

Edina Digimap

Edina Digimap is a collection of subscription services from Edinburgh University Data Library that deliver maps and map data of Great Britain to UK tertiary education. The following data collections are available:

Digimap Ordnance Survey Collection
Historic Digimap: historic Ordnance Survey maps from Landmark in addition to the Land Use Map Viewer.
Geology Digimap: geological maps and data from the British Geological Survey.
Marine Digimap: maps and data covering the UK marine environment.

UKBORDERS

UKBORDERS is available through the ESRC Census Programme. There are digitised boundary datasets of the UK, available in many Geographic Information System (GIS) formats (MapInfo MIF/MID, ArcView Shape, Arc/Info Export and several others), for teachers and researchers in the UK Higher and Further Education community to download and use in their work. The main group of boundaries available correspond to the various levels of 2001 and 1991 Census geography.