Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been running continuously since 1992 to meet the information needs of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is almost wholly funded by DWP. The FRS collects information from a large, and representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom (prior to 2002, it covered Great Britain only). The interview year runs from April to March.The focus of the survey is on income, and how much comes from the many possible sources (such as employee earnings, self-employed earnings or profits from businesses, and dividends; individual pensions; state benefits, including Universal Credit and the State Pension; and other sources such as savings and investments). Specific items of expenditure, such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax and water bills, are also covered.Many other topics are covered and the dataset has a very wide range of personal characteristics, at the adult or child, family and then household levels. These include education, caring, childcare and disability. The dataset also captures material deprivation, household food security and (new for 2021/22) household food bank usage.The FRS is a national statistic whose results are published on the gov.uk website. It is also possible to create your own tables from FRS data, using DWP’s Stat Xplore tool. Further information can be found on the gov.uk Family Resources Survey webpage.Secure Access FRS dataThe Secure Access version of the FRS contains unrounded data and additional variables, and is available from 2005/06 onwards. Prospective users of the Secure Access version of the FRS must fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. Full details of the application requirements are available from Guidance on applying for the Family Resources Survey: Secure Access.FRS, HBAI and PIThe FRS underpins the related Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which focuses on poverty in the UK, and the related Pensioners' Incomes (PI) dataset. The Secure Access versions are held under SNs 7196 and 9257. The EUL versions of HBAI and PI are held under SNs 5828 and 8503. 

Secure Access FRS contentsThe Secure Access version of the FRS contains unrounded data and a small number of extra variables that are not available on the standard EUL versions. A full listing of additional variables for the current year is available in the document '9256_frs<year>variable_listing_saf.xlsx', and in the UKDA Data Dictionaries in the Documentation section. Users should note that the variables listed may not be included for all FRS years. The file '9252_changes<year>.xlsx' lists a summary of variable changes since the previous year. FRS and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemicThe coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a notable impact on FRS 2020-21, with after-effects also on the 2021-22 survey year. The FRS team published a technical report for the 2020-21 survey to give a full assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the statistics. In line with the Statistics Code of Practice. This is designed to assist users with interpreting the data and to aid transparency over decisions and data quality issues. DocumentationThe Documentation section includes files for the latest year of the FRS only, due to available space. Documentation for previous years is provided alongside the data for access and is also available upon request. 

Main Topics:

Household characteristics (age, family composition, tenure); some spending, with housing (rent or details of mortgage); household bills including Council Tax, buildings and contents insurance, water and sewerage rates. Receipt of state support from all state benefits, including Universal Credit and Tax Credits; educational level and grants and loans; children in education; care, both those receiving care and those caring for others; childcare; occupation, employment, self-employment and earnings/wage details, including director dividend if received; income tax payments and refunds; National Insurance contributions; pension contributions; earnings from odd jobs. Doctors and dentists are separately identified from 2021-22.Health and disability, restrictions on work, children's health; income from personal or occupational/company pension schemes; other income from savings and investments, trusts, royalties or allowances, and other sources; children's earnings. Material deprivation, household food security (from 2019-20) and household food bank usage (from 2021-22).

Multi-stage stratified random sample

Compilation/Synthesis

Face-to-face interview: Computer-assisted (CAPI/CAMI)