News

Experts from the UK Data Service will be delivering a series of talks at the 50th annual conference of IASSIST (International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology) in Bristol on 3-6 June. We are also delighted to be sponsoring this year’s event, which will be dedicated to “bridging oceans, harbouring data & anchoring […]

The UK Data Service is pleased to announce a series of free user conferences in summer 2025, bringing together data producers, researchers and policymakers. These events offer valuable opportunities to hear new findings and engage with the latest developments in key UK datasets. Find out more information on the Census, Labour Force, Health and Family […]

Are you interested in learning how to code, but struggling to know where to start? Then join our Code Anxiety Club! While there are lots of great learning materials online for new coders, setting up your computational environment is often a neglected step in most tutorials. This is despite the fact that it can be […]

An update of our latest data releases. The following new datasets have been released: SN 9372 Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2022: Special Licence Access SN 9329 Nourishing Britain: a Political Manual for Improving the Nation’s Health, 2023-2024 SN 9387 Growing Up in Scotland: Cohort 1: Sweep 7.5, 2013-2014: Special Licence […]

An update of our latest data releases. The following new datasets have been released: SN 9370 Dietary Intake in Scotland’s CHildren (DISH), 2024 SN 9260 Survey of Displaced and Host Households in Four Refugee-Hosting Countries, 2021-2022: Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Jordan, and Kenya SN 9385 Understanding Society: Waves 1-14, 2009-2023: Special Licence Access, Wellbeing Acorn SN 9359 […]

Read the full stories in our April 2025 Newsletter. In this issue of the UK Data Service Newsletter, we are delighted to announce our re-accreditation by the UK Statistics Authority for the provision and preparation of data under the Digital Economy Act. We also highlight five key conferences taking place this summer, including the Understanding […]

This SA-TIED project has been set-up to support the development of policymaking in the Southern Africa region by working closely with researchers to close knowledge gaps, which are crucial to the achievement of inclusive growth and economic transformation in this area of the world. Through the SA-TIED programme, researchers have access to the comprehensive anonymised […]

Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations that work across the UK collect a wealth of data, highlighting the needs and experiences of the people they serve. However, once its immediate purpose has been fulfilled, it often remains dormant on organisational servers, limiting its potential use by others working towards similar goals. The UK Data […]

The UK Statistics Authority recently accredited the UK Data Service for the provision and preparation of data under Chapter 5 of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017. The accreditation is valid for a period of five years, until 31 March 2030, subject to annual reviews. This is a major achievement for everyone connected to […]

An update of our latest data releases. The following new datasets have been released: SN 9366 Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People, 2023 SN 9364 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, 2023 SN 9363 British Social Attitudes Survey, 2023 SN 857176 The Mental Health of Children and Young People Growing Up in State Care in […]

We are delighted to announce the successful completion of the “Balancing the data scales: A cost-benefit analysis of low-fidelity synthetic data for data owners and providers” project. This year-long initiative examined the costs and benefits of synthetic data for data owners and Trusted Research Environments (TREs). The project was strategically important for understanding how to […]

Accredited Researcher Status under the Digital Economy Act 2017 allows researchers to access certain types of secure data. Until recently, the process for acquiring this status was to use the Research Accreditation Service (RAS) provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This process has now changed. On 4 April 2025, the ONS closed the […]