Easy access to our data

mySociety’s UK sites generate a steady stream of information that we make available for others to integrate into their own sites and services.

These are in the form of APIs and RSS feeds*.

Some services incur charges; please see each site for more detailed information.

APIs

Parliament data

Access data feeds on MPs, Lords, MLAs, MSPs, constituencies, debates, written answers, and more via the API from our parliamentary site TheyWorkForYou.

Common uses: “Find out who your representative is” tools;  publish specific parts of Hansard;  regular updates on mentions of a specific word or phrase in Parliament.

Administrative areas

MapIt is our service that maps UK postcodes and geographical points to administrative areas such as region, constituency, council or ward. It also gives information on administrative area boundaries in a variety of formats. Find MapIt here.

Common uses: “Write to your representative” tools – we use it on FixMyStreet.com and WriteToThem.com.

Freedom of Information requests

Our WhatDoTheyKnow API allows you to create customised requests to a specific body. There is also a handy spreadsheet of all authorities on the website. Find both here.

Common uses: “Make a request to such and such an authority” tools.

Transit time maps

Create maps of public transport travel times from or to a chosen postcode, for embedding in websites or services with our Mapumental API.

Common uses: Show transit times to a number of postcodes,  eg on property and job websites.

• None of these quite right for your needs? Or perhaps you need a little technical help setting them up. We are available for further development or consultancy. Email us to find out more.
  

RSS and Atom feeds

Local street problems

FixMyStreet shows street problem reports and updates in your chosen UK locations. Input your postcode here to see what’s available.

Common uses: Local websites,  blogs,  and news sites.

Public transport problems

FixMyTransport can show problems with public transport by region, by operator, by route, or by station/stop – and you can subscribe to a feed for any of them. This blog post explains how.

Common uses: Local websites,  blogs,  and news sites.

Parliamentary activity

TheyWorkForYou provides feeds of any individual MP or MLA’s appearances. Or search for any keyword and you’ll be offered a link to the RSS feed. Start by searching for a representative or a keyword on TheyWorkForYou.com.

Common uses: MPs’ and MLAs’ websites,  political blogs,  local newspapers,  special interest groups.

Freedom of Information requests

A couple of thousand FOI requests are processed through WhatDoTheyKnow every month. RSS feeds are available to track individual Freedom of Information requests, mentions of any keyword, plus there are also feeds for every organisation and user on the site. Start at WhatDoTheyKnow.com where you’ll see the orange RSS icons on every relevant page, including search results.

Common uses: Blogs,  local newspapers,  special interest groups

PledgeBank

On Pledgebank, people get together to take action. You’ll find feeds for new pledges, successful pledges, individual pledge updates, and keywords. Take a look at Pledgebank.com.

Common uses: Track relevant pledges on charity or personal websites

• None of these quite right for your needs? Or perhaps you need a little technical help setting them up. We are available for further development or consultancy. Email us to find out more.

* API stands for ‘application programming interface’ and is an easy means by which software that you develop can interface with the data in our websites.

* RSS feeds are a simple way to receive updates which can be published onto a website, or accessed via a dedicated ‘reader’

Typically, a certain level of developer skills are needed to integrate APIs.

RSS feeds require less knowledge. There are many plug-ins for common platforms such as WordPress which will publish the feed onto your website or blog. For private use, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds through a ‘reader’ such as Bloglines or Google Reader.

Image by Victor1558 (CC)