INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009

The INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 came into force on 31 December 2009. The regulations implement EC Directive 2007/2/EC in Scotland - similar regulations implement the Directive across the rest of the UK.

The purpose of the regulations is to create a Europe-wide electronic network of spatial information which is accessible to the public. "Spatial information" is information which has a geographical reference, for example postcodes and map data.

The Regulations set out, amongst other things:

definition of "spatial information" and "spatial datasets"
definition of Scottish public authorities and third parties covered by the regulations
the obligations of bodies covered e.g. creation of metadata, establishment and operation of discovery services, links to other datasets as part of a network
details of how the regulations will be enforced.

A full text of all legislation, including amendments to date, is available on The National Archives' legislation.gov.uk website:

INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009

The Scottish Government has published guidance on implementing the regulations:

Scottish Government: A Guide to the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 SSI/2009/440 (Word - 575 KB)