Survey Questions

Release date:
5 September 2016

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I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

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All the questions asked in all of the surveys held by the Office of National Statistics.

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Social Surveys

Questions asked in Social Surveys undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) since the early 1990s can be found at the Question Bank of the UK Data Service - https://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/variables

A list of the ONS Surveys held at the UK DataService has been provided.

  • Annual Population Survey
  • Crime Survey for England and Wales (ONS run, BMRB collected)
  • English Housing Survey (formerly English House Condition Survey and Survey of English Housing)
  • European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions
  • Family Expenditure Survey
  • Family Resources Survey
  • General Lifestyle Survey formerly the General Household Survey
  • Integrated Household Survey
  • Labour Force Survey
  • Life Opportunities Survey
  • Living Costs and Food Survey
  • National Food Survey (run until 1995)
  • National Survey for Wales (ONS 2016 onwards)
  • National Travel Survey (ONS up to 2002 only)
  • Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (formerly ONS Opinions Survey and ONS Omnibus Survey)
  • Time Use Survey (ONS up to 2000 only)
  • International Passenger Survey
  • Adult Dental Health Survey
  • Child Dental Health Survey
  • Citizenship Survey (ONS 2003 only)
  • Mental Health Survey for Children and Young People now the National Study of Health and Wellbeing: Children and Young People
  • European Health Interview Survey
  • Adult Education Survey (ONS 2016 only)
  • Wealth and Assets Survey
  • National Diet and Nutrition Survey (ONS 1994-2001 only)
  • The Millennium Survey of Poverty and Social Exclusion (ONS 1999 only)

At the data service each survey has the following documentation (https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/):

  • Download button: this is located near the top right of the catalogue record.
  • A brief overview of the data: who collected the data, the main topics, the population covered, how the data were collected, the levels of geography etc.
  • Documentation: scroll down the catalogue record to find the documentation. All datasets come with documentation supplied by the data producer, normally in the form of searchable pdfs. The documentation varies from survey to survey but will normally include a user guide, the questionnaire and a technical report. These documents should tell you:
  • how the data were collected and processed into its current format
  • which topics were covered and the wording of the questions used
  • how each variable was coded and how derived variables were constructed
  • the name(s) of the weighting variables, how the weight(s) were constructed and when to use each one if there are more than one.

Census questionnaires can be found via the following link: https://census.ukdataservice.ac.uk/use-data/censuses/forms

Business Surveys

A list of the business surveys are attached.

ONS also runs surveys on behalf of other government departments. A list of these can be found here:

Quarterly Survey of Building Materials Sand and Gravel (land-won)
Quarterly Survey of Building Materials Concrete Roofing Tiles
Quarterly Survey of Building Materials Slate
Monthly Survey of Building Materials Concrete Building Blocks
Monthly Survey of Building Materials Bricks
Quarterly Survey of Building Materials Sand and Gravel (marine dredged)
Quarterly Survey into Electricity Generated
Quarterly Fuels Survey
Quarterly Railways Investment Survey
UK Innovation Survey

Additional Surveys

Additional surveys held by ONS are attached.

Business surveys

SURVEY COMMENTS
Vacancy Survey
Unit Trusts: Quarterly Return of Transactions
Unit Trusts: Annual Return of Liabilities and Assets
Quarterly Stocks Survey There are 11 variations of this questionnaire asking for stocks values on specific items within question 1.
UK Manufacturers' Sales by Product (PRODCOM) The products listed under Section A are specific to the individual respondent and their industry.
Survey of Research and Development carried out in the UK There are 2 form types for this questionnaire. Form type 1 available here is the complete questionnaire. Form type 2 is a shortened version.
Services Turnover Survey There are 42 form types for this survey. The services requested in Section B are industry specific and are different on each form type.
Services Producer Prices Indices: Recruiting of Pricing Information There are 3 form types for this survey. The form type available here is for Business and Management. The other two cover Advertising and Warehousing / Storage services. The survey is not currently running in this format and is undergoing redevelopment.
Quarterly Welsh Business Survey
Quarterly Survey of Pension Funds: Transactions and Balances
Quarterly Survey of Pension Funds: Income and Expenditure
Quarterly Survey of International Trade in Services
Quarterly Survey of Insurance Companies There are four surveys covering quarterly insurance and each has additional form types. The PDF available here covers General Business Transactions and Balances. The other surveys cover Long Term Business Transactions and Balances / Long Term Business Income and Expenditure / General Business Income and Expenditure.
Quarterly Inquiry for Services Producer Price Indices (SPPI) There are eight form types for this survey all following a similar format but with industry specific changes to guidance notes.
Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey
Quarterly Operating Profits Survey
Quarterly Inquiry into Sales of Industry in Scotland - Scottish Units Only This survey is no longer being conducted.
Quarterly Business Survey
Quarterly Acquisitions and Disposals of Capital Assets Survey There are three variations of this survey. This is the standard questionnaire. One of the additional versions asks an extra question regarding minerals, and the other asks an extra question regarding sports contracts.
Quarterly Survey of Financial Assets and Liabilities
Property Unit Trusts Annual Return of Liabilities and Assets
Occupational Pension Schemes Survey (OPSS) There are five variations of this survey. The version here asks for information regarding defined benefit schemes. The other four versions cover defined contribution schemes / winding up schemes / small schemes and public sector defined benefit schemes.
Annual Business Survey There are forty-eight form types for this survey. Sections C and D ask for different information on each form type. The total number of questionnaires is a combination of both long and short questionnaires. The example available here is a long questionnaire.
Annual Survey of Insurance Companies There are four surveys covering annual insurance and each has additional form types. The PDF available here covers General Business Balance Sheet. The other surveys cover Long Term Business Balance Sheet / Long Term Business Income and Expenditure / General Business Income and Expenditure.
Index Number of Import Prices (IPI): Provision of Price Information
Index Number of Export Prices (EPI): Provision Price Information
Monthly Wages and Salaries Survey
Investment Trusts: Annual Return of Liabilities and Assets and Overseas Income and Interest Paid
Monthly Inquiry for Index Numbers of Import Prices - Price Quotation Return
Investment Trusts Quarterly Return of Transactions
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) FDI is covered by four questionnaires. The PDF available here covers Annual Inward FDI. The other three cover Annual Outward FDI / Quarterly Inward FDI and Quarterly Outward FDI. Each questionnaire is available in long and short variations.
Monthly Inquiry for Index of Numbers of Producer Prices - Price Quotation Return
Consumer Credit Grantors Register Update
Annual Acquisitions and Disposals of Capital Assets Survey
Annual Survey of Pension Funds: Balance Sheet
Business Enterprise Research and Development Survey This survey is no longer being conducted.
Monthly Business Survey (Retail Sales Index) There are six variations of this questionnaire.
Monthly Survey of Consumer Credit Grantors
Business Register and Employment Survey There are five variations of this questionnaire. The PDF available here is the standard questionnaire. The other four cover Public Sector / Employment Agencies / Unproven and Construction.
Annual Survey of International Trade in Services
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
Annual Purchases Survey There are 109 form types for this survey. The services requested in Section C, D and E are industry specific and are different on each form type.
Business Register Survey
Financial Institutions Register Survey
Index Number of Import Prices Provision Price Information
E-Commerce Survey
Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Survey
Financial Services Survey Financial Services are covered by two questionnaires which contain multiple form types. The questionnaire available here covers Assets and Liabilities, the other covers Income and Expenditure.
Monthly Business Survey (for Construction and Allied Trades)
Monthly Business Survey (Production and Services) There are multiple versions of this questionnaire. The variations revolve around additional questions and/or amendments to guidance notes (include/exclude lists) for specific industries.
Mergers and Acquisitions involving UK Companies There are 5 variations of this survey. The example here asks for data on domestic investment. The other four ask for data on outward/inward investment and disinvestment.

Other ONS surveys

SURVEY COMMENTS
Management Practices Survey
Annual Civil Service Employment Survey

Downloads associated with request

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