The UK Innovation Survey is part of a wider Community Innovation Survey (CIS) covering EU countries. The survey is based on a core questionnaire developed by Eurostat and Member States, and results form part of various EU benchmarking exercises. The UK Innovation Survey is funded by BEIS and carried out by the Office for National Statistics with assistance from the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. More historic information prior to 2009 is available from the National Archives website. For access to granular microdata, please contact Official for National Statistics (ONS) Secure Research Service or UK Data Service.

Source agency: Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Community Innovation Survey

UK-specific results on people’s trust in government and institutions, opinions of public services and attitudes toward political issues. These are official statistics in development.

Findings from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey for England.

The People and Nature Survey for England is one of the main sources of data and statistics on how people experience and think about the environment. It began collecting data in April 2020 and has been collecting data since.

The survey builds on the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey which ran from 2009 to 2019. Data from the People and Nature Survey for England enables users to:

• understand how people use, enjoy, and are motivated to protect the natural environment
• monitor changes in use of the natural environment over time, at a range of different spatial scales and for key groups within the population
• understand how being in the natural environment can influence wellbeing
• understand environmental attitudes and the actions people take at home, in the garden and in the wider community to protect the environment

This data contributes to Natural England’s delivery of statutory duties, informs Defra policy and natural capital accounting, and contributes to the outcome indicator framework for the 25 Year Environment Plan.

Different versions of the People and Nature Survey for England are available from the UK Data Archive under Open Access (SN 9092) conditions, End User Licence (SN 9093), and Secure Access (SN 9094).

The Secure Access version includes the same data as the End User Licence version, but includes more detailed variables including:

• age as a continuous variable
• sex
  
• whether gender is the same as at birth
• sexual orientation
• more detailed ethnicity
• where journey to recent visit to green and natural space started from
• visit date
• detailed home geography, including local authority districts, local nature recovery strategies areas, national character areas; urban/rural area, and Index of Multiple Deprivation
• a number of variables that have not been top-coded, including number of children and number of children in household, food and drink expenditure, and income

The Open Access version includes the same data as the End User Licence version, but does not include the following variables:

• age band
• gender identity
  
• marital status
• number of children living in household
• number of children
• work status
• student working status
• income
• qualification
• ethnicity and consent to answer ethnicity question
• number of vehicles
• presence of dog in household
• physical activity
• various health data

Researchers are advised to review the Open Access and/or the End User Licence versions to determine if these are adequate prior to ordering the Secure Access version.

Natural England's statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2023. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Users are welcome to contact Natural England directly at people_and_nature@naturalengland.org.uk with any comments about how they meet these standards. Alternatively, users can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, Natural England have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

1. Published a development plan with timetables for future work, which will be updated annually
2. Ensured that users have opportunities to contribute to development planning through their biannual Research User Group
3. Enabled wider access to the data by publishing raw data sets through the UK Data Service
4. Provided users with guidance on how statistics from their products can be compared with those produced in the devolved nations
5. Published guidance on the differences between PaNS and MENE
6. Improved estimates of the percentage of people visiting nature in the previous 14 days by reducing the amount of respondents answering ‘don’t know’.

These data are available in Excel, SPSS, as well as Open Document Spreadsheet (ODS) formats.

Latest edition information

For the seventh edition (March 2025), data for April to June 2024 (Quarter 17) have been added.

Underlying data from the publication 'Research to understand the barriers to take up and use of business support' [URN 11/1288]. Data from a survey of 1,202 employer SMEs in England undertaken in March 2011. The survey was designed to provide statistically robust evidence of business use and non use of external business support services, differentiating between private sector and public sector sources of both routine information and strategic advice. The survey aimed to produce a broadly representative sample of SME employers and used a random stratified sample from the Experian database adopting quotas in order to capture sufficient numbers of businesses across key categories (age, size, sector, region). The data presented in the published report was weighted by size band to correct for over-sampling amongst larger SMEs.

The Community Life Survey (CLS) is a household survey conducted in England, tracking the latest trends and developments across areas key to encouraging social action and empowering communities, including: volunteering and charitable giving; views about the local area; community cohesion and belonging; community empowerment and participation; influencing local decisions and affairs; and subjective well-being and loneliness.

The CLS was first commissioned by the Cabinet Office in 2012. From 2016-17, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) took over responsibility for publishing results. During 2020, the DCMS also commissioned the Community Life COVID-19 Re-contact Survey (CLRS) (SN 8781) to provide data on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected volunteering, charitable giving, social cohesion, wellbeing and loneliness in England.

Background
Up to 2015-16, the survey used a face-to-face methodology. Following thorough testing (experimental online versions of the survey were released for 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16), the CLS moved online from 2016-17 onwards, with an end to the previous face-to-face method. The survey uses a push-to-web methodology (with paper mode for those who are not digitally engaged). The survey informs and directs policy and action in these areas;

• to provide data of value to all users, including public bodies, external stakeholders and the public; and
• underpin further research and debate on building stronger communities.

The Community Life Survey incorporates a small number of priority measures from the Citizenship Survey, which ran from 2001-2011, conducted by the then Department for Communities and Local Government. These measures were incorporated in the Community Life Survey so that trends in these issues could continue to be tracked over time. (The full Citizenship Survey series is held at the UK Data Archive under GNs 33347 and 33474.)

Further information may be found on the GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-life-survey">Community Life Survey webpage.

The Community Life Survey, 2019-2020 covers April 2019 - March 2020 and forms 'Official Statistics', meaning that it meets the high standards of quality set out by the https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/"> Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Further information may be found on the GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/community-life-survey-201920"> Community Life Survey, 2019/20 webpage.

Latest edition information
For the second edition (May 2022), a new version of the data file was deposited. Errors have been fixed in two socio-economic variables, rnssec3 and rnssec5. The responses 'Never worked' and 'Long term unemployed' had previously been coded as missing in these variables.

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).

FRS 2022-23

The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the FRS 2022-23 survey was much reduced when compared with the two previous survey years. Throughout the year, there was a gradual return to pre-pandemic fieldwork practices, with the majority of interviews being conducted in face-to-face mode. The achieved sample was just over 25,000 households. Users are advised to consult the FRS 2022-23 Background Information and Methodology document for detailed information on changes, developments and issues related to the 2022-23 FRS data set and publication. Alongside the usual topics covered, the 2022-2023 FRS also includes variables for Cost of Living support, including those on certain state benefits; energy bill support; and Council Tax support. See documentation for further details.

FRS 2021-22 and 2020-21 and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the FRS 2021-22 and 2020-21 data collection in the following ways:

• In 2020-21, fieldwork operations for the FRS were rapidly changed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the introduction of national lockdown restrictions. The established face-to-face interviewing approach employed on the FRS was suspended and replaced with telephone interviewing for the whole of the 2020-21 survey year.

• This change impacted both the size and composition of the achieved sample. This shift in mode of interview has been accompanied by a substantial reduction in the number of interviews achieved: just over 10,000 interviews were achieved this year, compared with 19,000 to 20,000 in a typical FRS year. While we made every effort to address additional biases identified (e.g. by altering our weighting regime), some residual bias remains. Please see the FRS 2020-21 Background Information and Methodology document for more information.
• The FRS team have published a technical report for the 2020-21 survey, which provides a full assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the statistics. In line with the Statistics Code of Practice, this is designed to assist users with interpreting the data and to aid transparency over decisions and data quality issues.

• In 2021-22, the interview mode was largely telephone, with partial return to face-to-face interviews towards end of survey year. The achieved sample was over 16,000 households. This is a return towards the number expected in a normal survey year (around 20,000 households).
• In both survey years, there remain areas where users are advised to exercise caution when making comparisons to other survey years. More details on how the results for the 2020 to 2021 and 2021-22 survey years were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can be found in the FRS 2020 to 2021 Background Information and Methodology and FRS 2021 to 2022 Background Information and Methodology.

The FRS team are seeking users' feedback on the 2020-21 and 2021-22 FRS. Given the breadth of groups covered by the FRS data, it has not been possible for DWP statisticians to assess or validate every breakdown which is of interest to external researchers and users. Therefore, the FRS team are inviting users to let them know of any insights you may have relating to data quality or trends when analysing these data for your area of interest. Please send any feedback directly to the FRS Team Inbox: team.frs@dwp.gov.uk

This page is no longer updated. It has been superseded by the Business insights and impacts on the UK economy dataset page (see link in Notices). It contains comprehensive weighted datasets for Wave 7 onwards. All future BICS datasets will be available there. The datasets on this page include mainly unweighted responses from the voluntary fortnightly business survey, which captures businesses’ responses on how their turnover, workforce prices, trade and business resilience have been affected in the two-week reference period, up to Wave 17.

The Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) is a large-scale telephone survey of small business owners and managers commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). This survey is the latest in a series of annual and biennial Small Business Surveys (SBS) dating back to 2003.

In 2015, the survey methodology changed to include a longitudinal tracking element. A large sample size was recruited in Year One (2015) to establish a panel of businesses to be re-surveyed in subsequent years. This will allow a detailed analysis of how combinations of factors affect business performance.

The LSBS is intended to:

• Improve the understanding of what drives and constrains business performance and growth by addressing evidence gaps relating to the lags between many business activities and associated performance outcomes;
• Provide improved data on current business performance and the factors that affect this. The larger survey size will provide more reliable findings for key sub-groups of the business population and in relation to activities such as seeking finance, which are only relevant to part of the sample.

The data available covers all respondents over the course of the six years so far. Further information and research reports are available on the GOV.UK "https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/small-business-survey-reports"> Small Business Survey Reports webpage.

Controlled (Secure) Access Version
A Controlled (Secure) Access version of the LSBS is available from the UK Data Archive, subject to stringent secure access conditions. Extra variables include postcode district, 2-, 3-, and 4-digit SIC codes; and Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) reference numbers for linking to other business surveys. Small Business Survey data files for 2010 and 2012 containing 4-digit SIC codes and IDBR reference numbers are available under SN 6856. Users are strongly advised to check whether the safeguarded version is sufficient for their needs before considering an application for the Controlled (Secure) Access version.

Latest edition information
For the ninth edition (December 2024), the data and documentation have been updated to include Year 9 of the survey, completed during 2023-2024.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) asks a sole adult in a random sample of households about their, or their household's, experience of crime victimisation in the previous 12 months. These are recorded in the victim form data file (VF). A wide range of questions are then asked, covering demographics and crime-related subjects such as attitudes to the police and the criminal justice system (CJS). These variables are contained within the non-victim form (NVF) data file. In 2009, the survey was extended to children aged 10-15 years old; one resident of that age range was also selected from the household and asked about their experience of crime and other related topics. The first set of children's data covered January-December 2009 and is held separately under SN 6601. From 2009-2010, the children's data cover the same period as the adult data and are included with the main study.

The Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) became operational on 20 May 2020. It was a replacement for the face-to-face CSEW, which was suspended on 17 March 2020 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It was set up with the intention of measuring the level of crime during the pandemic. As the pandemic continued throughout the 2020/21 survey year, questions have been raised as to whether the year ending March 2021 TCSEW is comparable with estimates produced in earlier years by the face-to-face CSEW. The ONS Comparability between the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales and the face-to-face Crime Survey for England and Wales report explores those factors that may have a bearing on the comparability of estimates between the TCSEW and the former CSEW. These include survey design, sample design, questionnaire changes and modal changes.

More general information about the CSEW may be found on the ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales web page and for the previous BCS, from the GOV.UK BCS Methodology web page.

History - the British Crime Survey

The CSEW was formerly known as the British Crime Survey (BCS), and has been in existence since 1981. The 1982 and 1988 BCS waves were also conducted in Scotland (data held separately under SNs 4368 and 4599). Since 1993, separate Scottish Crime and Justice Surveys have been conducted. Up to 2001, the BCS was conducted biennially. From April 2001, the Office for National Statistics took over the survey and it became the CSEW. Interviewing was then carried out continually and reported on in financial year cycles. The crime reference period was altered to accommodate this.

Secure Access CSEW data
In addition to the main survey, a series of questions covering drinking behaviour, drug use, self-offending, gangs and personal security, and intimate personal violence (IPV) (including stalking and sexual victimisation) are asked of adults via a laptop-based self-completion module (questions may vary over the years). Children aged 10-15 years also complete a separate self-completion questionnaire. The questionnaires are included in the main documentation, but the data are only available under Secure Access conditions (see SN 7280), not with the main study. In addition, from 2011 onwards, lower-level geographic variables are also available under Secure Access conditions (see SN 7311).

New methodology for capping the number of incidents from 2017-18
The CSEW datasets available from 2017-18 onwards are based on a new methodology of capping the number of incidents at the 98th percentile. Incidence variables names have remained consistent with previously supplied data but due to the fact they are based on the new 98th percentile cap, and old datasets are not, comparability has been lost with years prior to 2012-2013. More information can be found in the 2017-18 User Guide (see SN 8464) and the article ‘Improving victimisation estimates derived from the Crime Survey for England and Wales’.

Domestic abuse numbers, prevalence, types and attitudes experienced by women and men aged between 16 and 59 years and 60 to 74 years, based upon annual findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Survey name: Bishop Auckland (Etherley Grange) (Wear Valley L.P.) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data - scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data. Crown copyright and database right [year].