Annual Population Survey (APS)

Summary

Type of data

Data Source
Survey

Type of Study
Crosssection regular

Data gathering method
Telephone
Face-to-face

Access to data

Conditions of access
Data are available from the UK Data Service (previously the Economic and Social Data Service, ESDS): http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/ The website contains detailed information on conditions of access, and it is also possible to contact the UK Data Service by phone: +44 (0)1206 872143, or by email: help@ukdataservice.ac.uk

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
Anonymised microdata

Formats available
Survey data from the UK Data Service are usually available to download in SPSS, Stata and tab-delimited (suitable for use in MS Excel) formats.

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
The APS comprises key variables from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), all its associated LFS boosts and the APS boost. Thus, the APS combines results from five different sources: the LFS (waves 1 and 5); the English Local Labour Force Survey (LLFS), the Welsh Labour Force Survey (WLFS), the Scottish Labour Force Survey (SLFS) and the Annual Population Survey Boost Sample (APS(B) - however, this ceased to exist at the end of December 2005, so APS data from January 2006 onwards will contain all the above data apart from APS(B)). Users should note that the LLFS, WLFS, SLFS and APS(B) are not held separately in the Archive. For further detailed information about methodology, users should consult the Labour Force Survey User Guide, selected volumes of which have been included with the APS documentation for reference purposes (see 'Documentation' for the APS datasets on the UK Data Service website). The APS aims to provide enhanced annual data for England, covering a target sample of at least 510 economically active persons for each Unitary Authority (UA)/Local Authority District (LAD) and at least 450 in each Greater London Borough. In combination with local LFS boost samples such as the WLFS and SLFS, the survey provides estimates for a range of indicators down to Local Education Authority (LEA) level across the United Kingdom. The survey includes approximately 155,000 households and 360,000 people per dataset. Data are available quarterly based on a rolling 4-quarter moving average (i.e. each dataset contains 12 months worth of data). `Note: Older people are represented in this data source (approximately) according to their proportion in the population. In 2011, over one third of the total UK population (and approximately 40 per cent of the adult population 16+) was aged 50 and over.`

First year of collection
2004

Stratification if applicable
The data includes a variety of demographic variables, including age and sex. The sample is stratified.

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
Countries (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) Government Office Regions (NUTS1) More detailed spatial data are available under Special License (including NUTS2 and NUTS3).

Age range
All ages

Statistical representativeness
Other, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a major survey series, which aims to provide data that can produce reliable estimates at local authority level. Key topics covered in the survey include education, employment, health and ethnicity. The APS improves the intercensal monitoring of key variables for a range of policy purposes. It also provides local area information across the UK as part of the Neighbourhood Statistics Programme (NeSS). In addition to better local authority level data, the increased sample size available from the APS also facilitates better national estimates. Topics covered include: household composition and relationships, housing tenure, nationality, ethnicity and residential history, employment and training (including government schemes), workplace and location, job hunting, educational background and qualifications. Many of the variables included in the survey are the same as those in the LFS. During 2012, the ONS published APS data aimed at providing initial estimates of subjective well-being. These data are currently considered experimental statistics, published at an early stage to involve users as they undergo further testing and development. Further information about this initiative may be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/first-annual-ons-experimental-subjective-well-being-results/index.html Users should note that there are two versions of each APS dataset. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement, and the other is a Special Licence (SL) version. The SL version contains more detailed variables relating to: • age: including single year of age, year and month of birth, age completed full-time education and age obtained highest qualification, age of oldest dependent child and age of youngest dependent child • family unit and household: including a number of variables concerning the number of dependent children in the family according to their ages, relationship to head of household and relationship to head of family • nationality and country of origin • geography: including county, unitary/local authority, place of work, Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS2) and NUTS3 regions, and whether lives and works in same local authority district • health: including main health problem, and current and past health problems • education and apprenticeship: including numbers and subjects of various qualifications and variables concerning apprenticeships • industry: including industry, industry class and industry group for main, second and last job, and industry made redundant from • occupation: including 4-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for main, second and last job and job made redundant from • system variables: including week number when interview took place and number of households at address The EUL version contains less detailed variables. For example, the lowest geography is Government Office Region, only banded age is available, only 3-digit SOC is available for main, second and last job, and only industry division for main, second and last job. Users are advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for the research requirements.

Linkage

Standardisation
There is an ongoing cross-governmental programme of work in the UK which aims to develop and improve standardised inputs and outputs for use in official statistics. This is known as harmonisation, and is led by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). While this work primarily affects government-run surveys, the results have an impact on most national UK data sources. Furthermore, harmonisation has important benefits for all researchers using these surveys, and not just government statisticians. For more information, see: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/harmonisation/harmonisation-index-page/index.html

Possibility of linkage among databases
Data are anonymised

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable
In addition to unit non-response, the data include item non-response and may be subject to other errors that are typical of surveys and censuses. This data source is used to prepare official statistics, which are required to meet quality standards. These standards are monitored by the UK Statistics Authority, according to the statutory authority provided by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/national-statistician/producers-of-official-statistics/index.html http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/national-statistician/types-of-official-statistics/index.html For more information on data quality, see the survey documentation on the UK Data Service website.

Breaks
There are no major breaks for this data source.

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
In general, the consistency of this data source is very good. For more information on data quality, see the survey documentation on the UK Data Service website.

Governance

Contact information
Office for National Statistics
Customer Contact Centre
Government Buildings, Cardiff Road
NP10 8XG Newport, South Wales United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0) 1633 455678.
Email: socialsurveys(at)ons.gsi.gov.uk
Url: http://ukdataservice.ac.uk/

Timeliness, transparency
Data are available about 12 months after the end of fieldwork