End of General Lifestyle Survey? Consultation

There will be changes made to the General Lifestyle Survey (GLF) due to the decision to source EU-SILC data from the Family Resources Survey. The ONS propose merging the GLF with the opinions survey. If you use GLF and are concerned about changes, please see more detail below, and consider responding to the consultation.

Summary

2011: The GLF health, health determinants and use of health services question blocks will be removed or reduced in 2011 if the NHS Information Centre withdraws funding.
2012: Subject to the results of a public consultation, the GLF will cease to exist in its current format and will be replaced with a new combined Opinions / GLF survey.

ONS presentation at GLF User Meeting, March 2011

From 2012, the European Union requirement for Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) will be met using the Family Resource Survey (FRS) for respondents in their first year (the cross-sectional component) and a new telephone based survey for respondents in their second to fourth year (the longitudinal component). Currently, the EU-SILC requirement is met by the General Lifestyle Survey (GLF). The move from the GLF to the FRS will result in significant benefits in terms of cost savings and greater harmonisation between poverty indicators used by the UK and the EU.

EU-SILC covers housing, employment, income, state benefits, material deprivation and general health. Therefore, after 2011, the GLF will not need to collect these topics for the EU requirement. This provides an opportunity to review the GLF data collection with respect to existing and future data needs. ONS is currently consulting on this and specifically, its proposal to stop the existing longitudinal GLF survey and to replace it with a new cross-sectional survey, which would be a combination of the ONS Opinions and GLF surveys. The Opinions survey has many similarities with the GLF, in terms of the sample design, sample size and data collection methodology.

As part of the ongoing consultation, the ONS would welcome comments from GLF users about the combinations of variables that they need in order to conduct their research. ONS would also welcome comments from users about how their data requirements might be met using a new Opinions / GLF Survey or through existing sources. For example, ONS requests users’ input on the content and design of a new survey.

The NHS Information Centre has put forward a proposal to cancel its funding of the health, health determinants and use of health services questions on the GLF from Apr 2011 onwards because of budget reductions. If this proposal is accepted questions that cover these topics will be removed later this year.

Given this new information, you may wish to reply to the GLF consultation document (even if you've already done so previously): www.ons.gov.uk/about/consultations/open-consultations/eusilc-integration-into-frs/ 

English Indices of Deprivation 2010

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published the English Indices of Deprivation 2010
http://www.communities.gov.uk/communities/research/indicesdeprivation/deprivation10/

These statistics update previous indices, published by the Department in 2007 and 2004, using more recent data and provide a nationally consistent measure of multiple deprivation across local areas in England.

The Department would welcome comments regarding your use of the current Indices to help develop statistics that are able to best meet the needs of users.

UN World Contraceptive Use 2010

The United Nations Population Division  has announced the release of  "World Contraceptive Use 2010".

This set of tables in Excel format includes country data as of December 2010 on contraceptive prevalence for 193 countries or areas of the world, and unmet need for family planning for 107 countries or areas of the world. Detailed trend data on contraceptive prevalence (total and by type of method) are available from 1950 to 2010. Data also highlight patterns in use of long-acting and permanent methods and male methods of contraception. Unmet need for family planning data (total, spacing and limiting) are available from 1986 to 2009. Regional and sub-regional time trends in contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for family planning are also presented.

"World Contraceptive Use 2010" can be downloaded free of charge from the Population Division website, http://www.unpopulation.org/

The World's Women and Girls: 2011 data sheet

The Population Reference Bureau has just published the 2011 edition of the World's Women and Girls Data Sheet. The publication contains tables of internationally comparative data for demography, reproductive health, education, work and public life, as well as presenting data on 'overcoming barriers to gender equality'.

The publication can be found here http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-women-girls-2011-data-sheet.pdf