This is not an official service
The Food Standards Agency, the Office for National Statistics, councils and other data providers do not endorse Bars.co.uk.
List of sources
If the table is wider than your screen, scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Source | How we use it | When we update it | Licence and terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Standards Agency | Venue name and type, food hygiene rating or inspection result, rating date and council. | We check each night. We publish only after the full check passes. | Food hygiene data: Open Government Licence v3.0. Logos and official rating images have separate terms. |
| Office for National Statistics geography data | Official area names, codes and postcode lookups. | We use a fixed published release. We update it after checking changes to areas and codes. | Usually Open Government Licence. We check the terms for each product and any third-party rights. |
| Wikipedia place articles | Broad history and geography in our city and local-authority introductions. Wikipedia does not supply venue facts or venue counts. | Each introduction shows the date checked and links to the permanent article revision that Bars.co.uk reviewed. | Wikipedia content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our summaries use original Bars.co.uk wording and link to the source revision. |
| OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles and OpenStreetMap | OpenFreeMap and OpenMapTiles provide the background. OpenStreetMap also provides the names, types and approximate locations of nearby attractions, transport, sport and useful places. It does not supply venue scores or food hygiene results. | Map files and nearby places load only when a map comes near the screen. Nearby-place results are cached for 72 hours and show their OpenStreetMap data date. | OpenFreeMap provider terms; OpenMapTiles attribution; OpenStreetMap data © contributors under the Open Database Licence 1.0. |
| Geograph Britain and Ireland | Optional, reviewed photos of venue exteriors. Geograph does not supply venue scores, ownership or food hygiene information. | We check for new photos each month. We prefer photos from the last two years and do not normally publish one more than ten years old. | Each photo keeps its photographer credit, original photo link and Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence beside the image. |
| Venue operators | Descriptions, services, access, chain or group links, community work, staff totals, local suppliers, short-term offers, mediation contact and venue declarations. | We update this after checking a new submission or correction. The page shows when it was last confirmed or checked. | Venue submission terms. We label this information as From the venue or Venue self-certified. |
| Bars.co.uk | Venue IDs, score calculations, checks, rankings and explanations. | We update this when a record changes or during its yearly review. | Bars.co.uk copyright. Public API and asset terms apply. |
Food Standards Agency data
The Food Standards Agency publishes food hygiene ratings and inspection results for councils. Bars.co.uk uses records with the official business type Pub/bar/nightclub. We keep the source date and the date we added each record.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland use the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. Scotland uses the Food Hygiene Information Scheme. We show each result as its source provides it. A hygiene result does not rate food quality. It also does not show whether a venue has an alcohol licence.
Official food hygiene data is reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The required notice is: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Each live record names the Food Standards Agency and the council. It also shows the source date, when Bars.co.uk last checked it and which fields use this licence. The Food Standards Agency terms say that reused data must show the current rating or say when it was updated.
Geographic data
We use official area codes and postcode lists instead of guessing a place from typed words. Some Office for National Statistics products contain data owned by other people. Northern Ireland postcode data may have extra terms. We check the licence and required credit before using any release on the live site.
City and area introductions
We write the short place introductions on city and local-authority pages. We check broad history and geography facts against the Wikipedia articles named on each page. The page also shows the date we checked them.
Wikipedia does not supply venue names, food-hygiene results, scores or venue counts. Those facts keep their own source labels. Wikipedia content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.
Maps and nearby places
Our interactive maps use OpenFreeMap with OpenMapTiles and OpenStreetMap data. OpenStreetMap also supplies the names, types and approximate locations shown in the separate nearby-place groups. It does not supply Bars.co.uk venue names, venue scores or food hygiene results.
Every map shows this credit: OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles · Map and nearby place data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). OpenStreetMap data is available under the Open Database Licence 1.0. Read the OpenStreetMap copyright and licence information.
Nearby-place requests use a limited search around a published venue or area centre. Results are capped, cached for 72 hours and kept separate from food-safety records. OpenStreetMap is community maintained, so a place can be missing, out of date or marked at an approximate centre.
The map does not ask for your location. Map files load only when the map section comes near your screen. Your browser contacts OpenFreeMap for the background map, while Bars.co.uk requests nearby places on the server. Read the OpenFreeMap privacy information and provider terms.
Venue photos from Geograph
Some venue pages use a reviewed exterior photo from Geograph Britain and Ireland. The photo is separate from the venue's food hygiene record and Bars.co.uk score.
Directly under every photo, we show who took it, the full date, its Geograph photo page and its Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence. We also say whether the image was changed.
We prefer photos from the last two years. An older photo has a clear note because the venue's design or operator may have changed. People can use the report link beside the photo if it shows the wrong place or is out of date.
Photo reports go to report@booze.co.uk. The link beside each photo fills in the venue page and both image IDs.
Community information from venues
A venue can select details about community use, low-cost food, access, local jobs, local suppliers and events. We do not guess these selections from hygiene data, venue scores or other websites. Bars.co.uk writes the fixed feature names and simple explanations. The venue supplies the selections and any extra practical detail, and the page shows when it last confirmed them.
A venue can also ask us to publish one photo or short video beside a feature. We check public media before it appears. Public video also needs captions and a transcript or audio description. It is supporting information from the venue, not an official finding or a certification.
We only show total numbers of staff. We do not publish staff names, home addresses or personal work records. Offers and events can change, so check with the venue before you travel. Exact-feature results can show a photo or video label. Reviewed media can break a tie between otherwise equal feature matches. Media never changes a venue's score or its order in a general name, postcode, place or venue search.
Chain and group information
We only name a chain or group when we have a separate record for it. The page says Operated by, names the public group and shows the source and checked date. We do not guess a group from food hygiene data.
Not currently recorded means we do not have information that we can publish. It does not prove that the venue is independent. Public pages and the API do not show private company details, member accounts, claim proof or private contact details.
Marks and imagery
The Open Government Licence does not give permission to reuse official logos. Food Standards Agency rating images have separate terms. We only show an official image after checking that it is current, unchanged and allowed. The same information is always available as text.
Correcting data
We cannot edit an official rating at its source. We help you contact the Food Standards Agency or the right council. We update Bars.co.uk after the official record changes. Information from a venue and information created by Bars.co.uk use different correction forms.