Postcode Address File: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:00, 10 July 2018

Revision as of 08:57, 5 August 2018

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==Usage==

The "delivery points" held on the PAF are routing instructions used by Royal Mail staff to sort and deliver mail quickly and accurately. Elements of the address, including the post town and postcode, are occasionally subject to change, reflecting the operational structure of the postal delivery system. Each address is therefore not necessarily a geographically accurate description of where a property is located.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.postcomm.gov.uk/policy-and-consultations/consultations/postcode-address-file--changing-postal-addresses/PAFCodeofPracticeReviewFinalDoc.pdf |title=Ofcom &#124; Postal Services |publisher=Government of the United Kingdom |accessdate=10 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929010447/http://www.postcomm.gov.uk/policy-and-consultations/consultations/postcode-address-file--changing-postal-addresses/PAFCodeofPracticeReviewFinalDoc.pdf |archive-date=29 September 2007 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Buildings which contain internal flats or businesses but have only one external front door will only have those internal elements recorded in PAF if the Royal Mail have direct access to them using a key or fob.

==File structure==

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==Costs and public availability==

Between 2004 and 2006 a consultation was taken about the future management of the PAF. The proposal to release it for use at low or no cost was rejected, and the business model where it was used to raise money from profitable corporations was retained.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psc.gov.uk/policy-and-consultations/consultations/postcode-address-file--management-of-information.html|title=Postcode Address File – review of the management of PAF|author=PostComm|access-date=5 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120062729/http://www.psc.gov.uk/policy-and-consultations/consultations/postcode-address-file--management-of-information.html|archive-date=20 November 2008|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The accounts for the PAF for 2005/6 disclosed an income of £18million, 8.6% of which was profit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psc.gov.uk/postcomm/live/policy-and-consultations/consultations/postcode-address-file--management-of-information/PAF_decision_doc.pdf|title=Royal Mail's Future management of PAF|date=April 2007|access-date=5 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930011745/http://www.psc.gov.uk/postcomm/live/policy-and-consultations/consultations/postcode-address-file--management-of-information/PAF_decision_doc.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2011|dead-url=yes|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Following a Government consultation,<ref>[http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/ordnancesurveyconsultation DCLG: Policy options for geographic information from Ordnance Survey: Consultation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091230115507/http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/ordnancesurveyconsultation |date=30 December 2009 }}</ref> on 1 April 2010 Ordnance Survey released co-ordinate data for all Great Britain postcodes (but not their address elements) for re-use free of charge under an attribution-only licence, as part of [[Ordnance Survey#Open data releases|OS OpenData]].