The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been running continuously since 1992 to meet the information needs of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is almost wholly funded by DWP.
The FRS collects information from a large, and representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom (prior to 2002, it covered Great Britain only). The interview year runs from April to March.
The focus of the survey is on income, and how much comes from the many possible sources (such as employee earnings, self-employed earnings or profits from businesses, and dividends; individual pensions; state benefits, including Universal Credit and the State Pension; and other sources such as savings and investments). Specific items of expenditure, such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax and water bills, are also covered.
Many other topics are covered and the dataset has a very wide range of personal characteristics, at the adult or child, family and then household levels. These include education, caring, childcare and disability. The dataset also captures material deprivation, household food security and (new for 2021/22) household food bank usage.
The FRS is a national statistic whose results are published on the gov.uk website. It is also possible to create your own tables from FRS data, using DWP’s Stat Xplore tool. Further information can be found on the gov.uk Family Resources Survey webpage.
Secure Access FRS data
In addition to the standard End User Licence (EUL) version, Secure Access datasets, containing unrounded data and additional variables, are also available for FRS from 2005/06 onwards - see SN 9256. Prospective users of the Secure Access version of the FRS will need to fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. Full details of the application requirements are available from http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/media/178323/secure_frs_application_guidance.pdf" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Guidance on applying for the Family Resources Survey: Secure Access.
FRS, HBAI and PI
The FRS underpins the related Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which focuses on poverty in the UK, and the related Pensioners' Incomes (PI) dataset. The EUL versions of HBAI and PI are held under SNs 5828 and 8503, respectively. The Secure Access versions are held under SN 7196 and 9257 (see above).
Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been running continuously since 1992 to meet the information needs of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is almost wholly funded by DWP. The FRS collects information from a large, and representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom (prior to 2002, it covered Great Britain only). The interview year runs from April to March.The focus of the survey is on income, and how much comes from the many possible sources (such as employee earnings, self-employed earnings or profits from businesses, and dividends; individual pensions; state benefits, including Universal Credit and the State Pension; and other sources such as savings and investments). Specific items of expenditure, such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax and water bills, are also covered.Many other topics are covered and the dataset has a very wide range of personal characteristics, at the adult or child, family and then household levels. These include education, caring, childcare and disability. The dataset also captures material deprivation, household food security and (new for 2021/22) household food bank usage.The FRS is a national statistic whose results are published on the gov.uk website. It is also possible to create your own tables from FRS data, using DWP’s Stat Xplore tool. Further information can be found on the gov.uk Family Resources Survey webpage.Secure Access FRS dataThe Secure Access version of the FRS contains unrounded data and additional variables, and is available from 2005/06 onwards. Prospective users of the Secure Access version of the FRS must fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. FRS, HBAI and PIThe FRS underpins the related Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which focuses on poverty in the UK, and the related Pensioners' Incomes (PI) dataset. The Secure Access versions are held under SNs 7196 and 9257. The EUL versions of HBAI and PI are held under SNs 5828 and 8503. Secure Access FRS contentsThe Secure Access version of the FRS contains unrounded data and a small number of extra variables that are not available on the standard EUL versions. A full listing of additional variables for the current year is available in the document '9256_frs
Income Dynamics provides estimates of the rates of persistent low income. An individual is classed as being in persistent low income if they are in low income in at least 3 out of 4 years.
Income Dynamics also provides estimates of mobility across the income distribution, including low income entry and exit rates. This year’s release includes new analysis on the events associated with low income entry and exit.
Income Dynamics estimates are based on Understanding Society, a longitudinal survey which follows respondents over time. This is unlike the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, which uses the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to look at the distribution of incomes within a different sample each year.
Understanding Society (the UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, and the survey research organisations Verian Group (formerly Kantar Public) and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.
The Understanding Society: Calendar Year Dataset, 2021, is designed to enable cross-sectional analysis of individuals and households relating specifically to their annual interviews conducted in the year 2021, and, therefore, combine data collected in three waves (Waves 11, 12 and 13). It has been produced from the same data collected in the main Understanding Society study and released in the longitudinal datasets SN 6614 (End User Licence) and SN 6931 (Special Licence). Such cross-sectional analysis can, however, only involve variables that are collected in every wave in order to have data for the full sample panel. The 2021 dataset is the second of a series of planned Calendar Year Datasets to facilitate cross-sectional analysis of specific years. Full details of the Calendar Year Dataset sample structure (including why some individual interviews from 2022 are included), data structure and additional supporting information can be found in the document '9194_calendar_year_dataset_2020_user_guide'.
As multi-topic studies, the purpose of Understanding Society is to understand the short- and long-term effects of social and economic change in the UK at the household and individual levels. The study has a strong emphasis on domains of family and social ties, employment, education, financial resources, and health. Understanding Society is an annual survey of each adult member of a nationally representative sample. The same individuals are re-interviewed in each wave approximately 12 months apart. When individuals move, they are followed within the UK, and anyone joining their households is also interviewed as long as they are living with them. The fieldwork period for a single wave is 24 months. Data collection uses computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) and web interviews (from wave 7) and includes a telephone mop-up. From March 2020 (the end of wave 10 and 2nd year of wave 11), due to the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face interviews were suspended, and the survey has been conducted by web and telephone only but otherwise has continued as before. One person completes the household questionnaire. Each person aged 16 or older participates in the individual adult interview and self-completed questionnaire. Youths aged 10 to 15 are asked to respond to a paper self-completion questionnaire. In 2020, an additional frequent web survey was separately issued to sample members to capture data on the rapid changes in people’s lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see SN 8644). The COVID-19 Survey data are not included in this dataset.
Further information may be found on the Understanding Society main stage webpage and links to publications based on the study can be found on the Understanding Society Latest Research webpage.
Co-funders
In addition to the Economic and Social Research Council, co-funders for the study included the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, the Department for Transport, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Community and Local Government, the Department of Health, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency.
End User Licence and Special Licence versions:
There are two versions of the Calendar Year 2021 data. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement, and the other is a Special Licence (SL) version. The SL version contains month and year of birth variables instead of just age, more detailed country and occupation coding for a number of variables and various income variables have not been top-coded (see xxxx_eul_vs_sl_variable_differences for more details). Users are advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements. The SL data have more restrictive access conditions; prospective users of the SL version will need to complete an extra application form and demonstrate to the data owners exactly why they need access to the additional variables in order to get permission to use that version. The main longitudinal versions of the Understanding Society study may be found under SNs 6614 (EUL) and 6931 (SL).
Low- and Medium-level geographical identifiers produced for the mainstage longitudinal dataset can be used with this Calendar Year 2021 dataset, subject to SL access conditions. See the User Guide for further details.
Suitable data analysis software
These data are provided by the depositor in Stata format. Users are strongly advised to analyse them in Stata. Transfer to other formats may result in unforeseen issues. Stata SE or MP software is needed to analyse the larger files, which contain about 1,900 variables.
Understanding Society, (UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex and the survey research organisations Verian Group (formerly Kantar Public) and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.
The Understanding Society: Calendar Year Dataset, 2021, is designed to enable cross-sectional analysis of individuals and households relating specifically to their annual interviews conducted in the year 2021, and, therefore, combine data collected in three waves (Waves 11, 12 and 13). It has been produced from the same data collected in the main Understanding Society study and released in the longitudinal datasets SN 6614 (End User Licence) and SN 6931 (Special Licence). Such cross-sectional analysis can, however, only involve variables that are collected in every wave in order to have data for the full sample panel. The 2021 dataset is the second of a series of planned Calendar Year Datasets to facilitate cross-sectional analysis of specific years. Full details of the Calendar Year Dataset sample structure (including why some individual interviews from 2022 are included), data structure and additional supporting information can be found in the document '9193_calendar_year_dataset_2021_user_guide'.
As multi-topic studies, the purpose of Understanding Society is to understand the short- and long-term effects of social and economic change in the UK at the household and individual levels. The study has a strong emphasis on domains of family and social ties, employment, education, financial resources, and health. Understanding Society is an annual survey of each adult member of a nationally representative sample. The same individuals are re-interviewed in each wave approximately 12 months apart. When individuals move, they are followed within the UK, and anyone joining their households is also interviewed as long as they are living with them. The fieldwork period for a single wave is 24 months. Data collection uses computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) and web interviews (from wave 7) and includes a telephone mop-up. From March 2020 (the end of wave 10 and 2nd year of wave 11), due to the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face interviews were suspended, and the survey has been conducted by web and telephone only but otherwise has continued as before. One person completes the household questionnaire. Each person aged 16 or older participates in the individual adult interview and self-completed questionnaire. Youths aged 10 to 15 are asked to respond to a paper self-completion questionnaire. In 2020, an additional frequent web survey was separately issued to sample members to capture data on the rapid changes in people’s lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see SN 8644). The COVID-19 Survey data are not included in this dataset.
Further information may be found on the Understanding Society main stage webpage and links to publications based on the study can be found on the Understanding Society Latest Research webpage.
Co-funders
In addition to the Economic and Social Research Council, co-funders for the study included the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, the Department for Transport, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Community and Local Government, the Department of Health, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency.
End User Licence and Special Licence versions:
There are two versions of the Calendar Year 2021 data. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement, and the other is a Special Licence (SL) version. The SL version contains month and year of birth variables instead of just age, more detailed country and occupation coding for a number of variables and various income variables have not been top-coded (see the document '9194_eul_vs_sl_variable_differences' for more details). Users are advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements. The SL data have more restrictive access conditions; prospective users of the SL version will need to complete an extra application form and demonstrate to the data owners exactly why they need access to the additional variables in order to get permission to use that version. The main longitudinal versions of the Understanding Society study may be found under SNs 6614 (EUL) and 6931 (SL).
Low- and Medium-level geographical identifiers produced for the mainstage longitudinal dataset can be used with this Calendar Year 2021 dataset, subject to SL access conditions. See the User Guide for further details.
Suitable data analysis software
These data are provided by the depositor in Stata format. Users are strongly advised to analyse them in Stata. Transfer to other formats may result in unforeseen issues. Stata SE or MP software is needed to analyse the larger files, which contain about 1,900 variables.
Understanding Society (the UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, and the survey research organisations Verian Group (formerly Kantar Public) and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.
This release combines fourteen waves of Understanding Society data with harmonised data from all eighteen waves of the BHPS. As multi-topic studies, the purpose of Understanding Society and BHPS is to understand short- and long-term effects of social and economic change in the UK at the household and individual levels. The study has a strong emphasis on domains of family and social ties, employment, education, financial resources, and health. Understanding Society is an annual survey of each adult member of a nationally representative sample. The same individuals are re-interviewed in each wave approximately 12 months apart. When individuals move they are followed within the UK and anyone joining their households are also interviewed as long as they are living with them. The study has five sample components: the general population sample; a boost sample of ethnic minority group members; an immigrant and ethnic minority boost sample (from wave 6); participants from the BHPS; and a second general population boost sample added at this wave. In addition, there is the Understanding Society Innovation Panel (which is a separate standalone survey (see SN 6849)). The fieldwork period is for 24 months. Data collection uses computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) and web interviews (from wave 7), and includes a telephone mop-up. From March 2020 (the end of wave 10 and the 2nd year of wave 11), due to the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face interviews were suspended, and the survey was conducted by web and telephone only, but otherwise has continued as before. Face-to-face interviewing was resumed from April 2022. One person completes the household questionnaire. Each person aged 16 is invited to complete the individual adult interview and self-completed questionnaire. Parents are asked questions about their children under 10 years old. Youths aged 10 to 15 are asked to respond to a self-completion questionnaire. For the general and BHPS samples biomarker, genetic and epigenetic data are also available. The biomarker data, and summary genetics and epigenetic scores, are available via UKDS (see SN 7251); detailed genetics and epigenetics data are available by application (see below). In 2020-21 an additional frequent web survey was separately issued to sample members to capture data on the rapid changes in people’s lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see SN 8644). Participants are asked consent to link their data to wide-ranging administrative data sets (see below).
Further information may be found on the Understanding Society Main stage webpage and links to publications based on the study can be found on the Understanding Society Latest Research webpage.
Co-funders
In addition to the Economic and Social Research Council, co-funders for the study included the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, the Department for Transport, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Community and Local Government, the Department of Health, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency.
End User Licence, Special Licence and Secure Access versions:
There are three versions of the main Understanding Society data with different access conditions. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement (SN 6614), one is a Special Licence (SL) version (this study) and the third is a Secure Access version (SN 6676). The SL version contains month as well as year of birth variables, more detailed country and occupation coding for a number of variables, various income variables that have not been top-coded, and other potentially sensitive variables (see 6931_eul_vs_sl_variable_differences document available with the SL version for full details of the differences). The Secure Access version, in addition to containing all the variables in the SL version, also contains day of birth as well as Grid Reference geographical variables. Users are advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements. The SL and Secure Access versions of the data have more restrictive access conditions and prospective users of those versions should visit the catalogue entries for SN 6931 and SN 6676 respectively for further information.
Low- and Medium-level geographical identifiers are also available subject to SL access conditions; see SNs 6666, 6668-6675, 7453-4, 7629-30, 7245, 7248-9 and 9169-9170. Schools data are available subject to SL access conditions in SN 7182. Higher Education establishments for Wave 5 are available subject to SL access conditions in SN 8578. Interviewer Characteristics data, also subject to SL access conditions is available in SN 8579. In addition, a fine detail geographic dataset (SN 6676) is available under more restrictive Secure Access conditions that contains National Grid postcode grid references (at 1m resolution) for the unit postcode of each household surveyed, derived from ONS Postcode Directories (ONSPD). For details on how to make an application for Secure Access dataset, please see the SN 6676 catalogue record.
How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from Understanding Society:
Information on how to access genetics and epigenetics data directly from the study team is available on the Understanding Society Accessing data webpage.
Linked administrative data
Linked Understanding Society / administrative data are available on a number of different platforms. See the Understanding Society Data linkage webpage for details of those currently available and how they can be accessed.
Latest edition information
For the 18th edition (November 2024) Wave 14 data has been added. Other minor changes and corrections have also been made to Waves 1-13. Please refer to the revisions document for full details.
m_hhresp and n_hhresp files updated, December 2024
In the previous release (18th edition, November 2024), there was an issue with household income estimates in m_hhresp and n_hhresp where a household resides in a new local authority (approx. 300 households in wave 14). The issue has been corrected and imputation models re-estimated and imputed values updated for the full sample. Imputed values will therefore change compared to the versions in the original release. The variables affected are w_ficountax_dv, w_fihhmnnet3_dv, n_fihhmnnet4_dv and n_ctband_dv.
Suitable data analysis software
These data are provided by the depositor in Stata format. Users are strongly advised to analyse them in Stata. Transfer to other formats may result in unforeseen issues. Stata SE or MP software is needed to analyse the larger files, which contain over 2,047 variables.
Understanding Society, (UK Household Longitudinal Study), which began in 2009, is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex and the survey research organisations Verian Group (formerly Kantar Public) and NatCen. It builds on and incorporates, the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which began in 1991.
This release combines fourteen waves of Understanding Society data with harmonised data from all eighteen waves of the BHPS. As multi-topic studies, the purpose of Understanding Society and BHPS is to understand short- and long-term effects of social and economic change in the UK at the household and individual levels. The study has a strong emphasis on domains of family and social ties, employment, education, financial resources, and health. Understanding Society is an annual survey of each adult member of a nationally representative sample. The same individuals are re-interviewed in each wave approximately 12 months apart. When individuals move they are followed within the UK and anyone joining their households are also interviewed as long as they are living with them. The study has five sample components: the general population sample; a boost sample of ethnic minority group members; an immigrant and ethnic minority boost sample (from wave 6); participants from the BHPS; and a second general population boost sample added at this wave. In addition, there is the Understanding Society Innovation Panel (which is a separate standalone survey (see SN 6849)). The fieldwork period is for 24 months. Data collection uses computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) and web interviews (from wave 7), and includes a telephone mop-up. From March 2020 (the end of wave 10 and the 2nd year of wave 11), due to the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face interviews were suspended, and the survey was conducted by web and telephone only, but otherwise has continued as before. Face-to-face interviewing was resumed from April 2022. One person completes the household questionnaire. Each person aged 16 is invited to complete the individual adult interview and self-completed questionnaire. Parents are asked questions about their children under 10 years old. Youths aged 10 to 15 are asked to respond to a self-completion questionnaire. For the general and BHPS samples biomarker, genetic and epigenetic data are also available. The biomarker data, and summary genetics and epigenetic scores, are available via UKDS (see SN 7251); detailed genetics and epigenetics data are available by application (see below). In 2020-21 an additional frequent web survey was separately issued to sample members to capture data on the rapid changes in people’s lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see SN 8644). Participants are asked consent to link their data to wide-ranging administrative data sets (see below).
Further information may be found on the Understanding Society Main stage webpage and links to publications based on the study can be found on the Understanding Society Latest Research webpage.
Co-funders
In addition to the Economic and Social Research Council, co-funders for the study included the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, the Department for Transport, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Community and Local Government, the Department of Health, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency.
End User Licence, Special Licence and Secure Access versions:
There are three versions of the main Understanding Society data with different access conditions. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement (this study), one is a Special Licence (SL) version (SN 6931) and the third is a Secure Access version (SN 6676). The SL version contains month as well as year of birth variables, more detailed country and occupation coding for a number of variables, various income variables that have not been top-coded, and other potentially sensitive variables (see 6931_eul_vs_sl_variable_differences document available with the SL version for full details of the differences). The Secure Access version, in addition to containing all the variables in the SL version, also contains day of birth as well as Grid Reference geographical variables. Users are advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements. The SL and Secure Access versions of the data have more restrictive access conditions and prospective users of those versions should visit the catalogue entries for SN 6931 and SN 6676 respectively for further information.
Low- and Medium-level geographical identifiers are also available subject to SL access conditions; see SNs 6666, 6668-6675, 7453-4, 7629-30, 7245, 7248-9 and 9169-9170. Schools data are available subject to SL access conditions in SN 7182. Higher Education establishments for Wave 5 are available subject to SL access conditions in SN 8578. Interviewer Characteristics data, also subject to SL access conditions is available in SN 8579. In addition, a fine detail geographic dataset (SN 6676) is available under more restrictive Secure Access conditions that contains National Grid postcode grid references (at 1m resolution) for the unit postcode of each household surveyed, derived from ONS Postcode Directories (ONSPD). For details on how to make an application for Secure Access dataset, please see the SN 6676 catalogue record.
How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from Understanding Society:
Information on how to access genetics and epigenetics data directly from the study team is available on the Understanding Society Accessing data webpage.
Linked administrative data
Linked Understanding Society / administrative data are available on a number of different platforms. See the Understanding Society Data linkage webpage for details of those currently available and how they can be accessed.
Latest edition information
For the 19th edition (November 2024) Wave 14 data has been added. Other minor changes and corrections have also been made to Waves 1-13. Please refer to the revisions document for full details.
m_hhresp and n_hhresp files updated, December 2024
In the previous release (19th edition, November 2024), there was an issue with household income estimates in m_hhresp and n_hhresp where a household resides in a new local authority (approx. 300 households in wave 14). The issue has been corrected and imputation models re-estimated and imputed values updated for the full sample. Imputed values will therefore change compared to the versions in the original release. The variable affected is n_ctband_dv.
Suitable data analysis software
These data are provided by the depositor in Stata format. Users are strongly advised to analyse them in Stata. Transfer to other formats may result in unforeseen issues. Stata SE or MP software is needed to analyse the larger files, which contain over 2,047 variables.
Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.Pensioners' Incomes (PI) contains estimates of the levels, sources and distribution of pensioners' incomes. It also examines the position of single pensioners and pensioner couples, including any dependent children, within the income distribution of the population as a whole. This differs from Households Below Average Income (HBAI) (see SNs 5828 and 7196), where analysis is on a household basis, and includes the income of adults not in the pensioner unit but living in the same household. The PI undertakes a few extra steps beyond the FRS and HBAI data to derive pension income variables.The PI series is a key source of information used to inform Government thinking on relevant policies and related programmes and projects. Researchers and analysts outside the government use statistics and data to examine topics such as ageing, the distributional impacts of fiscal policies, and pensioner groups' income profiles. The PI estimates are usually based on a sample of around 7,000 adults over State Pension age, who reside in private households in the United Kingdom, taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The gov.uk Pensioners' Incomes Statistics webpage contains annual reports, accompanying tables, research, and technical papers.PI data are also available from 1994/95 onwards via the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Stat-Xplore online tool.Secure Access PI dataThe Secure Access version of the PI series (SN 9257) is available from 2007/08 onwards, whereas the standard End User Licence (EUL) data (SN 8503) are available from 2008/09. Unlike the EUL versions, the ages of the head of household and spouse have not been top-coded at 80 years in the Secure Access version. Prospective users of the Secure Access version must fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. Full details of the application requirements are available for PI in the Guidance on applying for the Family Resources Survey: Secure Access document. The Secure Access version of FRS is held under SN 9256, and the Secure Access version of HBAI is available under SN 7196. Latest edition information For the sixth edition (May 2024), data and documentation for 2022/23 have been added to the study. Main Topics:Variables cover household and demographic information, with incomes from a range of sources (pensions, benefits, savings and investments, and any earnings from work).
Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Individual Income Series provides estimates of the individual income of women and men in Great Britain and changes in income over time. These provide a means of comparing the income accruing to women with that accruing to men, either directly or in their own right. Individual income estimates cover all adult women and men, whether living as couples or as single persons. The data are derived directly from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) (available at the UK Data Archive under GN 33283) and the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) (available at the Archive under SN 5828). The Individual Income Series is distinct in that they seek to compare the incomes that accrue to women with those that accrue to men. This information complements data in other official statistics publications, which address different issues: HM Revenue and Customs' statistics cover only taxable income; certain other statistics cover only earned income; and other series such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) HBAI analyse household income. The Individual Income Series does not provide a means of comparing the living standards of women and men, nor of different groups of women: the analyses take no account of the extent to which members of a household share their incomes or resources with other household members. The National Equality Panel, set up by the Minister for Women and Equality in October 2008, was asked to look at the best available evidence on the relationship between inequality in economic outcomes and differences related to people's characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity and disability. One of the economic outcomes analysed by the Panel was individual income, received by each adult in their own right from all sources in total, before and after deducting direct taxes. The final report of the National Equality Panel, specifically chapter six, contains the analyses of the Individual Income Series, and are available as part of the study documentation (see below). The data files used for this analysis form the data available as part of this study. Some additional tables are available on the Government Equalities Office Individual Incomes Statistical Annex web page. Main Topics: The data cover:total incomenet incomedisposable incomedemographics (gender, ethnicity, age, disability status, occupational social class, housing tenure) Stratified clustered probability sample (Great Britain) and simple random sample (Northern Ireland) Face-to-face interview
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The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been running continuously since 1992 to meet the information needs of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is almost wholly funded by DWP.
The FRS collects information from a large, and representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom (prior to 2002, it covered Great Britain only). The interview year runs from April to March.
The focus of the survey is on income, and how much comes from the many possible sources (such as employee earnings, self-employed earnings or profits from businesses, and dividends; individual pensions; state benefits, including Universal Credit and the State Pension; and other sources such as savings and investments). Specific items of expenditure, such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax and water bills, are also covered.
Many other topics are covered and the dataset has a very wide range of personal characteristics, at the adult or child, family and then household levels. These include education, caring, childcare and disability. The dataset also captures material deprivation, household food security and (new for 2021/22) household food bank usage.
The FRS is a national statistic whose results are published on the gov.uk website. It is also possible to create your own tables from FRS data, using DWP’s Stat Xplore tool. Further information can be found on the gov.uk Family Resources Survey webpage.
Secure Access FRS data
In addition to the standard End User Licence (EUL) version, Secure Access datasets, containing unrounded data and additional variables, are also available for FRS from 2005/06 onwards - see SN 9256. Prospective users of the Secure Access version of the FRS will need to fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. Full details of the application requirements are available from http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/media/178323/secure_frs_application_guidance.pdf" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Guidance on applying for the Family Resources Survey: Secure Access.
FRS, HBAI and PI
The FRS underpins the related Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which focuses on poverty in the UK, and the related Pensioners' Incomes (PI) dataset. The EUL versions of HBAI and PI are held under SNs 5828 and 8503, respectively. The Secure Access versions are held under SN 7196 and 9257 (see above).