Geographic Coverage: Scotland
Scottish Health Survey (SHeS)
SHeS provides a detailed, repeatable picture of the health of people living in private households in Scotland—estimating the prevalence of conditions (especially cardiovascular disease), measuring key risk factors and health‑related behaviours, monitoring trends over time, and enabling comparisons across regions and population subgroups to inform policy and targets. After one‑off surveys in 1995, 1998 and 2003, SHeS has run annually since 2008
Delayed Discharge Data – Public Health Scotland (DDD)
To monitor the timeliness and safety of hospital discharge in NHS Scotland by reporting, each month, on adults who are clinically ready to leave hospital but remain because the required care, support, accommodation or funding is not yet in place. The dataset provides counts of people delayed at a monthly census point, associated bed days within each month, and discharges following delay.
Complaints About Care Services Scotland (CACSS)
To provide statistics on complaints received and investigated about registered care services across Scotland, and to make underlying service‑level data available for analysis. The aim is to support scrutiny, regulation and improvement by showing volumes, sources and outcomes of complaints, alongside service characteristics, via an annual statistical bulletin and regularly updated Datastore.
Scottish Mental Health Inpatient Census (SMHIC)
The MHIC provides an annual point‑in‑time snapshot of all patients in mental health, addiction and learning disability inpatient beds funded by NHS Scotland, plus those treated outwith NHS Scotland but funded by NHS Scotland, and a linked census of Hospital‑Based Complex Clinical Care (HBCCC) and long‑stay patients. The purpose is to inform policy development, service planning, and performance monitoring at national and local levels. People admitted to mental health inpatient services typically require a combination of community social work involvement, supported housing, social care packages, carer support The census includes people with severe and enduring mental illness and conditions requiring long-term inpatient support, comorbid with social vulnerabilities.
Scottish Care Homes Census (SCHC)
An annual census of Scotland’s adult care homes that reports numbers of care homes, registered places, residents, admissions and discharges at national and local-authority level, covering all residents regardless of funding source. The collection underpins policy and planning (e.g., National Care Service), adding resident-level and financial information not available elsewhere. Please note that the annual Scottish (adult) care home census has been paused after 2025 collection.
Scottish Social Service Sector Workforce Data (SSSS-WD)
The dataset aims to provide an annual, comprehensive picture of the paid workforce employed across Scotland’s social service sector. It combines administrative data from the Care Inspectorate with information collected directly by the SSSC from local authorities. The overarching purpose is to support workforce planning, assess sector stability, identify trends across sub‑sectors, and inform national and local decision‑making.
Local Authority Social Work Services (LASWS) Census
The LASWS census gathers comparable workforce information from all 32 Scottish local authorities’ social work services each December (for a single reference date). It captures headcount and WTE by post type/grade, vacancies, starters/leavers and workforce characteristics (e.g., demographics), and feeds into SSSC official statistics and workforce planning outputs.
Carers Census, Scotland (CCS)
The Carers Census collects detailed information on unpaid carers supported by Local Authorities and Carer Centres across Scotland. It exists primarily to monitor implementation of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, which took effect on 1 April 2018, and to improve the consistency and quality of support available to carers. From 2023–24 onward the census moves to a biennial reporting cycle (next collection 2025–26) to enable quality improvements.
Social Care Eligibility Criteria And Waiting Times Scotland (ECEC-WT)
This statistical publication presents the latest information on new clients meeting local eligibility criteria for social care support and new personal care clients in Scotland, along with waiting times between (1) first contact and completion of a community care assessment, and (2) completion of assessment and delivery of a personal care service. The data are used to monitor the six‑week target for delivering personal care to adults assessed with critical or substantial needs and to inform policy on variation across local authorities.
Free Personal and Nursing Care, Scotland (FPNCS)
Free Personal and Nursing Care (FPNC) is a Scottish Government initiative aimed at providing free-of-charge personal and nursing care to adults assessed as needing these services. Initially introduced in 2002 for those aged 65 and over, it was extended to all adults in April 2019 under "Frank’s Law." The 2023–24 report presents the number of recipients and expenditure relating to FPNC across care homes and care-at-home services.
Scottish Government Social Care Survey (SGSCS)
[We have catalogued the latest/last two sweeps (2015 &2016) for the CASCID catalogue.] The Social Care Survey collated client‑level administrative data from all 32 Scottish local authorities on people assessed for, and receiving, social care services (e.g., home care, telecare/community alarms, housing support, meals, and self‑directed support). Its purpose was to provide consistent national statistics to inform policy and service delivery, and to enable linkage with health datasets for research on interactions between health and long‑term care.
Healthy AGeing in Scotland (HAGIS)
HAGIS is Scotland’s first comprehensive longitudinal study of people aged 50+, designed to understand older adults’ health, economic, and social circumstances and to inform policies that improve wellbeing. It belongs to the Health & Retirement Study (HRS) family and is intended to re‑interview participants every two years to enable within‑Scotland tracking and cross‑country comparisons via the Gateway to Global Aging.
Source Social Care (SourceSC)
The Source Social Care dataset aims to provide a unified, high-quality evidence base for understanding the provision and impact of social care services across Scotland. By consolidating previous data collections into a single framework, it enables consistent monitoring of service delivery, supports strategic planning, and informs national policy. The dataset is designed to help health and social care partnerships, the Scottish Government, and other stakeholders assess care pathways, identify gaps, and improve outcomes for individuals receiving support. In recent years, Learning Disability Statistics Scotland (LDSS) has been merged into the Source dataset. This was done to: • Reduce duplication of effort at local authority level. • Improve data quality and consistency. • Enable better linkage with health data (e.g., using CHI numbers). • Provide richer insights into the care pathways and outcomes for people with learning disabilities. As a result, Source now includes learning disability data that was previously collected separately by LDSS.
MRC National Survey of Health & Development (MRC)
The MRC National Survey of Health and Development is the oldest and longest running continually-studied British birth cohort study, having followed a sample of 5,362 men and women born in England, Scotland and Wales since their birth in one week in March, 1946. During their childhood, the main aim of the NSHD was to investigate how the environment at home and at school affected physical and mental development and educational attainment. During adulthood, the main aim was to investigate how childhood health and development and lifetime social circumstances affected their adult health and function and how these change with age. Today, with study members in their seventies, the NSHD offers a unique opportunity to explore the long-term biological and social processes of ageing and how ageing is affected by factors acting across the whole of life.
West of Scotland Twenty-07 (WOS)
The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study is a population-based multi-cohort study which has followed three cohorts of men and women in the West of Scotland across twenty years. Set up in 1986, the study was designed to investigate the differences in health by socio-economic circumstances, gender, the place where people live, age, ethnic group and family type. Through tracking three cohorts of volunteers, each born roughly twenty years apart, the study provides data at critical points in the lifespan, as participants make the transition from adolescence to working life; through the main part of working life; and from working life to retirement. Additionally, the study was designed to explore the effect of the historical context of people’s lives on their health and circumstances by comparing the different cohorts at the same age at different points in time.
Million Women Study (MWS)
The Million Women Study is a population-based cohort study of 1.3 million women born in 1935-1950 with the aim of providing reliable information on potentially modifiable causes of common and serious illnesses. Participants’ health has been followed mainly through linkage to routinely collected NHS records as well as re-surveys. Current focus is on research on dementia, osteoporosis, stroke and other severe disabling conditions that become increasingly common as women age.
Learning Disability Statistics Scotland (LDSS)
All local authorities in Scotland collect information on the numbers of people with learning disabilities and/or autism in their area. Information is collected about everyone who is known to the local authority – not just the people who are using services. A report about the number of people with learning disabilities and/or autism in Scotland is published every year.
Generation Scotland (GSSFHS)
GS:SFHS is a family-based genetic epidemiology study with DNA and socio-demographic and clinical data from 24,000 volunteers across Scotland aged 18–98 years. The breadth and depth of phenotype information collected, participants’ mechanisms for linkage of all data to comprehensive routine health-care records, and ‘broad’ consent from participants to use their data and samples for a wide range of research were designed to maximize the power of the resource to identify, replicate or control for genetic factors associated with a wide spectrum of illnesses and risk factors, both now and in the future. It has recently added on a new module called COVIDLife in which quesitons related to COVID-19 were asked to participants over three main sweeps in 2020 and 2021. There are also three young persons' sweeps and a sweep which focuses specifically on rural areas.
Labour Force Survey (LFS)
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a study of the employment circumstances of the UK population. It is the largest household study in the UK and provides the official measures of employment and unemployment. This provides evidence for policy- and decision-making, and for directing resources to where they are needed most.
Growing Up in Scotland (GUSBC)
Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) is a longitudinal research study that tracks the lives of thousands of children and their families from the early years, through childhood and beyond. Launched in 2005, GUS has collected information on three nationally representative cohorts of children born in 2004-05 (Birth Cohort 1), 2002-03 (Child Cohort) and 2010-11 (Birth Cohort 2). This page provides information about Birth Cohort 1 (BC1). The main aim of the study is to provide new information to support policymaking in Scotland, but it is also intended to provide a resource for practitioners, academics, the voluntary sector and parents.
British Household Panel Survey (BHPS)
The British Household Panel Survey began in 1991 and was a multi-purpose study whose unique value resided in the fact that it followed the same representative sample of individuals over a period of years. Sampling was by household and every adult member within each sampled household was interviewed. The main objective of the BHPS was to further the understanding of social and economic change at the individual and household level in Britain. It was discontinued in 2007 though some sample members were recruited to become sample members in the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (Understanding Society).
UK Census (UKCen)
The UK census is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. The census asks questions about individuals, their household and home. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of the society. Information from the census helps the government and local authorities to plan and fund local services, such as transportation, education and healthcare.
Scottish Census (ScoC)
Scotland’s Census is the official count of every person and household in the country. There has been a census in Scotland every 10 years since 1801, except 1941. The 2021 census in Scotland was moved to 2022 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The answers people give to census questions help build up a picture of the population. Government and other service providers rely on census data to make important decisions. These can include how money will be spent on: schools, roads, hospitals etc.
General Household Survey (GHS)
The aim of the General Household Survey was to provide government departments and organisations with data on a range of topics relating to private households to aid monitoring and policy-making. The General Household Survey was carried out between 1971 and 2007, with two breaks (1997-1998 and 1999-2000) when the survey was redeveloped. The survey was discontinued in 2007.
Family Resources Survey (FRS)
The FRS is an annual report that provides facts and figures about the incomes and living circumstances of households and families in the UK. It is a continuous household survey which collects information on a representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom. The primary purpose of the FRS is to provide the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with data to inform the development, monitoring and evaluation of social welfare policy. FRS annual publications provide statistics and commentary on information such as income from all sources; housing tenure; caring needs and responsibilities; disability; pension participation; and savings and investments.
1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)
The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is a multidisciplinary national longitudinal birth cohort study. Original aims were to examine the social and biological characteristics of the mother in relation to neonatal morbidity, and to compare the results with the 1958 National Child Development Study. With each successive sweep, the scope of the enquiry has broadened from a strictly medical focus at birth, to encompass physical, educational, social and economic development.
1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS)
The 1958 National Child Development Study is a multidisciplinary national longitudinal birth cohort study following the lives of over 17,000 people born in 1958. The study aims to improve understanding of the factors affecting human development over the whole lifespan. Follows histories of health, wealth, education, family and employment from early life with linked biomedical and examination performance data integrated into the study.
Millennium Cohort Study (MCS)
The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is a national longitudinal birth cohort study following the lives of around 19,000 young people born in the United Kingdom in 2000-01. This multidisciplinary survey aims to capture the influence of early family context on child development and outcomes. Children from minority ethnic backgrounds and children in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland are oversampled to help capture the diversity of backgrounds into which children are born in the beginning of the 21st century.
Understanding Society – UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS)
Understanding Society is a largescale longitudinal survey of approximately 40,000 households across the United Kingdom. As a multi-topic household survey, the purpose of Understanding Society is to understand social and economic change in Britain at the household and individual levels by capturing important information about the social and economic circumstances, attitudes and behaviours and health of people living in thousands of households. The Understanding Society study is a successor to the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), with the BHPS sample forming part of Understanding Society from Wave 2 onwards.