Every year, more than a million people born on four specific dates are tracked through censuses, births, deaths, and cancer registrations—forming the ONS Longitudinal Study for England and Wales. CeLSIUS, a support unit based at UCL, helps researchers access and analyse this 50-year dataset, which is a cornerstone of the UK’s social data infrastructure. Without CeLSIUS, most studies on health inequalities, population ageing, and housing or labour market shifts would be impossible, because the data is complex and requires official accreditation to use. Over the next five years, CeLSIUS will continue offering free, bespoke advice, training, and dissemination support to academic, public-sector, and voluntary users. It will also work closely with the Office for National Statistics and sister units in Scotland and Northern Ireland to safeguard data access as the UK’s data ecosystem evolves—for example, through the Integrated Data Service. The project’s impact is largely infrastructural: it quietly enables rigorous, long-term social research that informs policy on housing, health, and employment, without which decisions would rest on far weaker evidence.
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For over 20 years, the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information & User Support (CeLSIUS) has operated as a research support unit that encourages and enables research using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Longitudinal Study (LS) for England and Wales. The ONS LS is a flagship UK longitudinal data resource which contains linked census and life events data from >1 million sample members, collected over 50 years. The ONS LS is an important part of the UK’s social data infrastructure thanks to its (1) size (a 1% sample of the total population selected as everyone born on four specific days of the year) and its (2) long running temporal coverage (data from each census from 1971-2011 is included, with 2021 soon to be added). In addition, the ONS LS is unique in (3) the wealth of linked life events data it contains (including births to sample mothers, deaths and cancer registrations) as well as (4) the way the sample remains nationally representative of the evolving population as fresh LS members enter the dataset through births and immigration while existing members leave through deaths and emigration. This project builds on CeLSIUS’ 12 years of successful operation at UCL, as evidenced by its high rate of repeat users and the large number of research publications enabled (including >100 journal articles since 2013). Under this project, CeLSIUS will continue to provide a high-quality, free support service from 2025-30 to academic, voluntary and public sector users of the LS throughout the research project lifecycle. This will include answering initial queries, assisting with project applications and advising on obtaining ONS Researcher Accreditation (mandatory for all users), supporting the delivery of rigorous LS research, and advising on output clearance, dissemination and potential impacts. This will be achieved by continuing to employ well-established LS user support officers at UCL and by working to develop existing training resources, online documentation and dissemination opportunities (for instance at regular UKCenLS conferences). CeLSIUS will also build on its close working relationship with ONS and its sister LS support units in Scotland and Northern Ireland to safeguard and enhance data access and usage as the data infrastructure ecosystem evolves through to 2030. More specifically, over the 2025-30 period CeLSIUS aims to (1) continue to support data users to design, conduct and disseminate excellent research using the ONS LS. CeLSIUS will also (2) work to boost usage of the data and (3) provide high-quality training, documentation and access support (for example through deployment of new SafePoints at UCL). CeLSIUS will deliver several benefits. First, research users will benefit from the free, bespoke support service and access to training and dissemination assistance that CeLSIUS has long provided and without which most LS research into UKRI strategic themes — including health inequalities, population ageing and housing/labour market restructuring — would be impossible. Second, CeLSIUS will maintain academic influence with ONS and ensure the research community’s needs are considered in the development of ONS projects and innovations, for example the development of the Integrated Data Service and deliberations about the future of census exercises.
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