Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude launched two separate consultations on open data in government and the planned Public Data Corporation (PDC).

UK taxpayers are being asked to comment on the handling of public data by central and local government.

The Cabinet Office is seeking views from British citizens on the following:

•how we might enhance a "right to data", establishing stronger rights for individuals, businesses and other actors to obtain data from public service providers;

•how to set transparency standards that enforce this right to data;

•how public service providers might be held to account for delivering open data;

•how we might ensure collection and publication of the most useful data;

•how we might make the internal workings of government and the public sector more open; and

•how far there would be a role for government to stimulate enterprise and market-making in the use of open data.

Maude said that such a plan would be a "brave step" by government.