Our health and well-being statistics

At the Office for National Statistics (ONS), we collect, store, process and use data to produce statistics that help us to understand the UK's economy, society and population. This includes statistics about:

• healthcare

• life expectancy

• disability

• people’s personal well-being

These statistics are used across UK society. They help local councils plan services for the people who need them most. Healthcare organisations use them to address inequalities and recognise where people need help and support. Charities also use our statistics to help target their support and get the funding they need.

Fighting the scammers

According to UK Finance’s 2023 Half Year Fraud Update, in the first six months of 2023, criminals stole over half a billion pounds.

It is no surprise that scamming has a huge impact on its victims, but to what extent and what can be done about it?

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is a survey that asks the victims of a selected range of offences about their experiences.

In 2021, using secure data from the CSEW, researchers found that scam victims are associated with:

• significantly lower levels of life satisfaction

• lower levels of happiness

• higher levels of anxiety

These insights helped organisations such as Which? highlight the need for greater protections for consumers from online scams. Matt Gardner, Economist at Which?, said, “This project really advanced our understanding of the scale of emotional harm experienced by victims of fraud. The quality evidence it gave us was an important part of our successful campaigning efforts to get scam advertising included in the Online Safety Bill.”

Controlling the spread of COVID-19

During the coronavirus pandemic, the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable settings, such as care homes, hospitals, prisons and schools, was a particular concern.

Finding the most effective and cost-efficient testing strategy was vital.

In 2022, a researcher from the University of Keele used data made available by our Secure Research Service to model the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable settings.

Test and trace data, vaccination data, mortality data and other sources were used to model the spread of COVID-19 under different testing strategies.

This helped the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to provide evidence and advice about the most beneficial testing strategies in these vulnerable settings. The evidence informed the public policy on testing in vulnerable settings.

You can explore examples of administrative data research using statistics from the ONS on the ADR UK website.