Welcome
Welcome to our newsletter for July.
It's now been almost a year since I joined the UK Data Service as Director, and I'm pleased to see the great work we've done over the past 12 months.
We've completed a number of major projects throughout this period and I've enjoyed seeing the role UK Data Service staff play in supporting the wider research and data community.
We've also been able to share our expertise at a number of national and international conferences this year, including our own, which have brought together data producers and researchers to share their ideas for improving services for users.
Members of the UKDS team provided presentations at IASSIST 2025, ESRA 2025, the Understanding Society Scientific Conference and our UKDS user conferences in the UK. Our events consisted of the UK Census User Conference 2025, the Health Studies User Conference 2025, the Labour Force and Annual Population Surveys User Conference 2025 and the Family Finance Surveys User Conference 2025.
We also jointly convened an additional conference this summer - the Future of the UK Demographic System Conference. This conference involved experts from the British Society for Population Studies (BSPS), Office for National Statistics (ONS) and other national bodies discussing the future of the census across the UK.
We've reached some key milestones recently. Most notably, UKDS was re-accreditation for the provision and preparation of data under the Digital Economy Act from the UK Statistics Authority, and accredited for the Cyber Essentials Plus certification. We also added the 10,000th dataset to our collection, and the collection continues to grow.
As I look ahead to the next year, I'd like to thank you all again for your continued support and I hope you enjoy this edition of the UK Data Service Newsletter.
Regards,
Steve McEachern,
Director, UK Data Service.
To get in touch please email: comms@ukdataservice.ac.uk. |
Search our data catalogue for further information about the datasets in our collection.
Users can also filter our online news stories to find the latest datasets and editions added to the data catalogue.
Additionally, you can follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn to keep up-to-date on when the latest datasets are released.
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This year’s Health Studies User Conference brought together 168 researchers and experts who specialise in the use of health-related data to improve people's lives. The event explored the future of population health surveys and highlighted how these data sources are used extensively in research, policy-making, and public health monitoring.
A session from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) outlined that NHS-England will not be prioritising population health surveys in its long-term strategic work plan, and that the Health Survey for England 2025 will be the last HSE it will resource.
Dr. Vanessa Higgins, the Director of Training and User Support at the UK Data Service, who chaired the conference, urges users of the Health Survey for England, and other population surveys to have their voices heard.
“It is of the utmost importance that all users of population health surveys feed into this questionnaire. I urge as many people as possible to complete this short exercise before midday on Friday 25 July, 2025”.
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Save the date
26 August
Code Anxiety Club
Confused by file pathways? Want to navigate the world of coding with confidence? Join our free Code Anxiety Club. There is no need to book a place, just follow the livestream link to join the session.
1-4 September
Royal Statistical Society International Conference 2025
The Royal Statistical Society conference brings together the statistics and data science community from across the UK, Europe and around the world to share knowledge and learn about latest developments.
This year's conference will take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and the UK Data Service will have a significant presence at this event.
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The UK Census User Conference 2025, held in Manchester, featured a wide range of research presentations, plus, updates from the UK Data Service Census team and other significant census agencies. They discussed the value of the census and the future plans for the survey. |
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We're pleased to announce we have launched a new, free-to-access data skills module to help researchers and analysts get the most from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The module was developed in collaboration with the Survey Branch at the Department for Work and Pensions and is available via our website.
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The IASSIST annual conference is always a highlight of our year and this event was no exception. A number of UK Data Service speakers delivered insightful sessions over the four days in Bristol, featuring presentations about our new Data Skills Framework, successful partnerships and how we can build a stronger research ecosystem together.
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We organised this event in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Speakers discussed new discoveries, such as evidence of health benefits for women working between the ages of 60-63 instead of retiring. These benefits include higher levels of cognition and greater mobility.
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Forthcoming training sessions
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Over the past few months, some of our Data Impact Fellows have been introducing themselves and their work.
· Kyle Genner explains how the project he has been working on connects with his own life experience and has meant that the last four years of his life have been spent immersed in day to day life at a local boxing club, deeply engaged with the lives and experiences of the children and young people who inhabit it.
· Anastasia Fadeeva introduces her work for the Violence, Health and Society (VISION) research consortium, particularly around the mental health consequences of violence and abuse against older people.
· Alice Varley explains how her PhD aims to investigate and examine various inequalities related to common mental health disorders. Her work has the potential to identify barriers to effective mental health treatment and gaps in service delivery.
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In a two-part blog post, Sarah Fullick introduces Trussell, the charity committed to ending hunger in the UK. She explains why data is so important to them and introduces Trussell’s mission beyond foodbanks. She further explores how research brings Trussell’s data to life, how Trussell uses data to drive change and looks further ahead.
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Eve Little
"I’m excited to have joined the UK Data Service as one of the new Research Impact and Engagement Managers. I’m passionate about social change and fascinated by how people, data, research, and policy interact to shape real-world outcomes. This role offers the chance to work across all these levels to better understand and enhance how research and data can drive positive societal impact."
Sophie Gawryla
"Impact is important because it ensures research and innovation do not remain within academic circles but reach the people they were designed to benefit. In data-heavy environments it is easy for this bigger picture to get lost, so it has already been incredibly encouraging to join a team so clearly driven by ambitious goals and a desire to share the amazing work being done."
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Media watch: The UK Data Service in the news
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from nation.cymru - 18 June 2025
"Planning has begun for the next census of England and Wales, with the survey expected to take place in 2031. A census of the population has been held regularly since 1801, typically every 10 years, with the most recent one carried out in 2021."
This article references data which is available in the UK Data Service collection: Census 2021/2022
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from theconversation.com - 18 June 2025 "In Anglican and Catholic churches, average weekly attendance is down about 20% from pre-pandemic levels." This article references data which is available in the UK Data Service collection: British Social Attitudes Survey. |
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from expressandstar.com - 18 June 2025 "The Salvation Army hosted a drop-in event, where jobseekers from Willenhall and the surrounding areas dropped by to talk to employability experts and start transforming their lives through finding work."This article references data which is available in the UK Data Service collection: Annual Population Survey |
from whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com - 18 June 2025 "The Office for National Statistics has recommended that a full census of England and Wales be carried out in 2031.
This article references data which is available in the UK Data Service collection: Census 2021/2022 |
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We would like to know when you successfully publish research informed by data you have accessed via the Service. Contact our Impact team if you are interested in contributing to a blog or submitting a case study.
Also, when you cite the data correctly, that helps us to measure our impact, but if you let us know directly, we can investigate opportunities to further promote your research.
Help us to shape our new catalogue
We shall be undertaking user testing on our catalogue, if this is something you would like to be involved with please contact: tellusmore@ukdataservice.ac.uk.
You are also invited to provide feedback on our form regarding our website, with the chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher in our prize draw.
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UK Data Service, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park
Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ.
© Copyright 2025 University of Essex.
Created by UK Data Archive, UK Data Service.
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