The INSPIRE Regulations 2009

Interpretation U.K.

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Freedom of Information Act 2000(1);

“the Directive” means Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE);

“discovery service” means a service described in regulation 7(2)(a);

[F1 “interoperability” means the possibility for spatial data sets to be combined, and for services to interact, without repetitive manual intervention, in such a way that the result is coherent and the added value of the data sets and services is enhanced;]

“metadata” means information describing spatial data sets and spatial data services and making it possible to discover, inventory and use them;

“Metadata Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No 1205/2008 regarding metadata;

“public authority” has the meaning given by regulation 3;

“Scottish public authority” means—

(a)

a body referred to in section 80(2) of the Act, or

(b)

in so far as not such a body, a Scottish public authority as defined in section 3 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002(2);

“Scottish third party” means—

(a)

an individual whose address is in Scotland, or

(b)

a body corporate, partnership or unincorporated association whose principal office is in Scotland,

but does not include a Scottish public authority;

“spatial data” means any data with a direct or indirect reference to a specific location or geographical area;

“spatial data service” means a service which consists of operations which may be performed, by invoking a computer application—

(a)

on the spatial data contained in a spatial data set, or

(b)

on the metadata related to a spatial data set;

“spatial data set” means an identifiable collection of spatial data which—

(a)

are in electronic format,

(b)

relate to one or more of the themes listed in Annex I, II or III to the Directive, and

(c)

relate to—

(i)

the United Kingdom,

(ii)

Gibraltar,

(iii)

the territorial sea of the United Kingdom(3),

(iv)

an area of the continental shelf for the time being designated by an Order in Council under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964(4), or

(v)

an area, outside the territorial sea of the United Kingdom, for the time being designated by an Order in Council under section 84(4) of the Energy Act 2004(5);

“third party” means (except as otherwise provided by regulation 9(7)) a person other than—

(a)

a public authority or a Scottish public authority,

(b)

a person holding a spatial data set or operating a spatial data service on behalf of a public authority or a Scottish public authority,

(c)

a Scottish third party, or

(d)

a person holding a spatial data set or operating a spatial data service on behalf of a Scottish third party.

(2) Other terms used in these Regulations that are also used in the Directive have the meaning they bear in the Directive.

(3) For the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) a public authority is responsible for a spatial data set if—

(i) that authority holds that data set (other than on behalf of another person), or

(ii) another person holds that data set on behalf of that authority;

(b) a public authority is responsible for a spatial data service if—

(i) that authority operates that data service (other than on behalf of another person), or

(ii) another person operates that data service on behalf of that authority;

(c) a third party is responsible for a spatial data set if—

(i) that third party holds that data set (other than on behalf of another person), or

(ii) another person holds that data set on behalf of that third party; and

(d) a third party is responsible for a spatial data service if—

(i) that third party operates that data service (other than on behalf of another person), or

(ii) another person operates that data service on behalf of that third party.

(4) In these Regulations—

(a) any reference to the Metadata Regulation is a reference to the Metadata Regulation as amended from time to time; and

(b) any reference to Annex I, II or III to the Directive is a reference to that Annex to the Directive as amended from time to time.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 2(1) inserted (1.8.2012) by The INSPIRE (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/1672), regs. 1, 3

(1)

2000 c. 36.

(2)

2002 asp 13.

(3)

See section 1 of the Territorial Sea Act 1987 (c. 49).

(4)

1964 c. 29.

(5)

2004 c. 20.