Local Authorities Choose Contractor Link By Emapsite Following PSMA Launch

Online, June 7, 2011 (Newswire.com) - More than a quarter of the local authorities in England and Wales have begun using a free online service from emapsite that supports the new Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA).

Contractor Link by emapsite is a self-service portal for contractors. It enables government organisations to better manage their contractors' access and use of licensed mapping.

The PSMA, run by Communities and Local Government, provides geographic data from Ordnance Survey to all public sector organisations in England and Wales including 375 local authorities. The aim is to help the public sector take a more strategic approach to its geographic information needs.

Since the launch of the PSMA in April 2011, emapsite has integrated the agreement's subcontractor terms into Contractor Link, ensuring a smooth transition for all parties.

In just a few weeks, more than 100 local authorities have registered for Contractor Link keen to give their contractors fast, flexible access to OS data while retaining authorisation and visibility of all contractual activity.

Under Contractor Link, the government contracting body authorises or denies access to the contractor on a project-by-project basis, while emapsite provides an auditable, ongoing management record.

Contractor Link was developed following wide acceptance that the administration, processing and distribution of government mapping data is time consuming, costly and repetitive. Research by the Local Government Association has shown that local government alone spends around £3.5 million a year purely on managing and licensing geographic data to contractors.

In contrast, Contractor Link enables local authorities and government agencies to give their contractors secure access to all data contained in the PSMA at no cost to the public purse. Instead, a nominal service charge is met by the contractor starting from £49 with a sliding scale of fees for larger areas of data.

Maria Penn, Project Manager at Plymouth City Council, said: "We are encouraging our contractors to use this service as it saves us valuable time processing and fulfilling these requests while ensuring we are 100% compliant with the new PSMA licensing terms. Ultimately, efficiencies made using this service help us provide a better value service for our citizens."

James Cutler, chief executive of emapsite, said: "The number of local authority registrations we have had for Contractor Link since the launch of the PSMA is proof that our free service is being recognized for saving time and hassle. It is completely auditable, the government organisation retains total control over who has access to the data and all necessary administration on PSMA compliance is done by us."

emapsite is a leading mapping and data service provider to the business professional. A Premier Partner of Ordnance Survey, the company has a proven ten-year track record in delivering geographic data to thousands of clients in the contractor marketplace. The list includes leading consultants in planning and development, environment, engineering and asset management such as WYG Group, WSP, Atkins, Mouchel, Halcrow and Mott MacDonald.

Paul Chaplin, Senior CAD Technician, WYG Group, said: "Contractor Link makes accessing local authority mapping for tenders and our projects simple and saves so much time and hassle - well done emapsite!"

Andy Wilson, Ordnance Survey's Central Government Strategic Development Manager, said: "emapsite continues to innovate with Contractor Link, an excellent service which resolves a current and costly issue faced by government in distributing mapping to contractors quickly and effectively, while meeting their contractual requirements as set out by the new PSMA."
For more information on Contractor Link, contact [email protected] or call 0118 973 6883.

The Local Government Association identified the £3.5 million figure involved in managing and licensing contractors in its response to the CLG Consultation on Policy Options for Geographic Information for Ordnance Survey. See http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/aio/9660309