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. 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 contents The 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_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_.xlsx' lists a summary of variable changes since the previous year. Documentation The 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.Latest edition informationFor the second edition (April 2025), data and documentation for 2023/24 were added to the study. LSOA variables for 2013/14 to 2019/20 have also been added to the household ('househol') files for those years.For the third edition (May 2025), the 2022/23 data files were replaced, and the Excel metadata documentation updated accordingly. The following changes have been made:An ONS-delivered fix to the highest level of qualification (EDUCQUAL) which for several adults had been erroneously recorded.For ESA (benefit 16 on the BENEFITS table) the associated VAR3 has now been populated using ESA admin data, to show whether cases are Support Group etc.For Pension Credit recipients (benefit 4 on the BENEFITS table) adding the low-income benefits and tax credits Cost of Living Payment as benefit 124; with its flag CLPAYIRB set on the ADULT table.Further information can be found on the Family Resources Survey - GOV.UK webpage.
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. Level of savings (all forms of savings and investments). Level of personal debt, including credit card debt and loan / hire purchase debts. Veterans are identified separately from 2023-24 (past service as regular or reserve in the UK armed forces). The same is true of care leavers, i.e. young adults who were in care in their teenage years. Material deprivation, with items list and age groupings revised for 2023-24. Household food security (from 2019-20), household food bank usage (from 2021-22), and reliance on food from friends/relatives and other sources (from 2023-24).
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Face-to-face interview: Computer-assisted (CAPI/CAMI)
Telephone interview: Computer-assisted (CATI)
