Significant problems with geospatial data are undermining its value for planning and housing development, according to a new government backed report. This is creating the need for measures including more work on metadata standards, raising relevant skills in local authorities, and improving the wider understanding of geospatial data. The findings come in the new Planning and Housing Landscape Review compiled by Newgate Research for the Geospatial Commission. It is based on interviews with 100 organisations, a telephone survey of 126 local authorities and a targeted literature review. It identifies a problem in much of the geospatial data being held by councils and utilities providers failing to meet the criteria of being findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR), with the lack of standards having resulted in widespread differences in how it had been collected, collated and made available.