Community Life Survey, 2012-2013: Special Licence Access

<p>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</p>The <i>Community Life Survey</i> was first commissioned by the Cabinet Office in 2012-2013. It is a household survey conducted in England, tracking the latest trends and developments across areas key to encouraging social action and empowering communities, including:<ul><li>volunteering and charitable giving;</li><li>views about the local area;</li><li>community cohesion and belonging;</li><li>community empowerment and participation;</li><li>influencing local decisions and affairs; and </li><li>subjective well-being</li></ul>. The objectives of the survey are to:<ul><li> provide robust, nationally representative data on behaviours and attitudes within communities to inform and direct policy and action in these areas;</li><li>to provide data of value to all users, including public bodies, external stakeholders and the public; and</li><li>underpin further research and debate on building stronger communities</li></ul>To date, the survey has been conducted by face-to-face interview, with the resulting data forming Official Statistics. However, as part of the drive for cost savings and to align with digital advances, from 2013-2014 an investigation into the viability of switching to online data collection has been ongoing. From this date, the Community Life Survey has been conducted online. Further information may be found on the gov.uk <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-life-survey" title="Community Life Survey ">Community Life Survey</a> website.<br> <br> The <i>Community Life Survey</i> incorporates a small number of priority measures from the <i>Citizenship Survey</i>, which ran from 2001-2011, conducted by the Department for Communities and Local Government. These measures were incorporated in the <i>Community Life Survey</i> so that trends in these issues could continue to be tracked over time. (The full <i>Citizenship Survey</i> series is held at the UK Data Archive under GNs 33347 and 33474.)<br> <br>The first year of the survey conducted over three quarters in 2012-2013 (data were not collected for Quarter 1, as the survey was only established in summer of 2012). Once the three quarters' worth of data had been collected for 2012-13, a full aggregated dataset was made available. <br> <br> <b>End User Licence and Special Licence data</b><br> Users should note that there are two versions of each <i>Community Life Survey</i> 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: social class; ethnicity; religion; sexual identity and lower level geographical classifications.<br> <br> The SL data have more restrictive access conditions than those made available under the standard EUL. 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. Therefore, users are strongly advised to order the standard version of the data.<br> <br> The standard EUL version of the <i>Community Life Survey, 2012-2013</i> dataset is held under SN 7405.<br> <br><B>Main Topics</B>:<br>The <i>Community Life Survey, 2012-2013: Special Licence Access</i> data file comprises the following variables:<ul><li>SOC2010 Sub-Major Group</li><li>Ethnic group: 6 categories</li><li>Whether practising for each religion</li><li>Respondent religion: 7 categories (Jewish included in other) </li><li>Practice status for each religion</li><li>Ethno-Religious groups: 11 categories</li><li>Respondent sexual identity: 3 categories</li><li>Rural and Urban Area Classification 2004</li><li>ONS Ward Classification: Subgroup (2001 Wards) </li><li>ONS District Level Classification: Subgroup (2003) </li><li>Output Area Classification: Subgroup 52 categories</li></ul>