Further examples of businesses and public sector bodies using open data is being made available via the .

Theo Bertram, former adviser to government and UK policy manager at Google, has also pledged the internet giant's support for the open data scheme.

"We strongly believe that the opening up of public information will mainly benefit small and medium enterprises," said Bertram.

"Through this opening up of public data a range of SME organisations will be created, and existing SMEs will grow, delivering value based on this public information."

He added: "Having this public data enables social enterprises to start anywhere in the country, reinforcing local economies and also enabling a new generation of small businesses to be created."