Steering & coordination forums
The cross-stakeholder bodies that turn legislation and policy into collective decisions. DPMSG is the central one. Smart Data Council and the Home Buying and Selling Council are adjacent venues OPDA's leadership also sits on.
DPMSG — Digital Property Market Steering Group
Formed 1 August 2023 by HM Land Registry. The central convening body for the entire programme. From the gov.uk founding announcement:
That's the view of a newly formed coalition of government and industry partners — the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) — representing an important coming together of key industry partners under a shared vision at a pivotal time for the property market. The group's purpose is to help the property market work better for all by accelerating the adoption of digital technology, while ensuring it is transparent, secure and consumer friendly, through collaboration and innovation across the sector.
14 founding members
Law Society
England & Wales solicitors.
Conveyancing Association
Trade body for conveyancing firms.
Council for Licensed Conveyancers
Regulator + Sandbox delivery partner.
Society of Licensed Conveyancers
Membership body for licensed conveyancers.
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
Solicitor regulation.
RICS
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
CILEX
Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.
CILEx Regulation
Independent regulator of CILEX.
COPSO
Council of Property Search Organisations.
Propertymark
UK estate & letting agents body.
Building Societies Association
BSA — building society lenders.
UK Finance
Trade association for UK banking and finance.
HM Land Registry
DPMSG host. Operational lead.
DPMSG working group structure
DPMSG operates through six working groups whose materials we've mirrored from SharePoint:
monthly governance]:::sg CP["Comms & PR
Working Group"]:::wg EN[Engagement
Working Group]:::wg PO[Policy
Working Group]:::wg RE[Regulator
Working Group]:::wg TE[Technical
Working Group]:::wg SG --> CP SG --> EN SG --> PO SG --> RE SG --> TE
source/04-governance-bodies/working-groups/<wg-name>/.
Steering Group meeting materials at source/04-governance-bodies/steering-group/materials/<date>/
(8 meeting dates archived: 25 Sep 2025, 30 Oct 2025, 27 Nov 2025, 18 Dec 2025,
29 Jan 2026, 26 Feb 2026, 26 Mar 2026, 30 Apr 2026).
Working-group transcripts capture the actual decisions and rationale:
- Engagement WG: 4 "OPDA all member update — sandbox project" meeting transcripts (Feb–May 2026)
- Steering Group: 5 DPMSG Trust & Interoperability Steering Group meeting transcripts
Smart Data Council
DSIT-hosted, cross-sector advisory body for the wider Smart Data Scheme. Maria Harris (OPDA Chair) is a member — visibility OPDA gets between property and adjacent sectors (energy, finance, telecoms).
Home Buying and Selling Council (HBSC)
Industry forum focused specifically on the homebuying/selling process. Maria Harris also sits on this. Distinct from HBSG (below).
HBSG — Home Buying and Selling Group
Predecessor industry coordination body. Custodian of BASPI — the Buyer
and Seller Property Information data set (currently v4, with v5 in development).
PDTF's baspi.json and baspi5.json overlays implement BASPI.
Where OPDA sits among these
OPDA is the technical-standards arm of this ecosystem. Maria Harris (Chair) personally bridges the Smart Data Council, HBSC, and DPMSG. OPDA staff and members run multiple DPMSG working groups. The Sandbox, jointly delivered by CLC + OPDA + Raidiam, is the operational vehicle.
DSIT, cross-sector]:::forum DPMSG[DPMSG
HMLR-hosted, property]:::forum HBSC["Home Buying & Selling Council
industry forum"]:::forum HBSG[HBSG
BASPI custodian]:::forum MARIA["Maria Harris
(OPDA Chair)"] OPDA[OPDA]:::opda PDTF[PDTF
standard]:::out SBX[Trust Framework Sandbox]:::out ACC[OPDA Accreditation]:::out MARIA --- SDC MARIA --- HBSC MARIA --- DPMSG HBSG -.feeds BASPI into.-> OPDA OPDA --> PDTF OPDA --> SBX OPDA --> ACC