Access to Welsh Government microdata: guidance for researchers

Welsh Government microdata is available for researchers to access in Trusted Research Environments. Trusted research environments (TREs) (also known as secure data environments) are highly secure computing environments containing de-identified data.

Any researcher accessing Welsh Government microdata must undertake training in the safe use of microdata. We recommend that researchers complete safe researcher training (SRT). 

This training covers the legal, ethical and security aspects of conducting research with sensitive data. To book onto a safe researcher training course, you must contact the SRS customer support team at ONS.

After you complete the SRT course, you will receive a link to an online assessment that you need to pass to obtain your approved researcher number.

If you have already completed SRT then you can proceed to the next step.

If you have completed similar training to the SRT contact the Administrative Data Research Wales (ADR Wales) team in Welsh Government to discuss whether this is sufficient.

There are 4 different pathways to accessing Welsh Government microdata. 

The choice of pathway depends on what datasets you would like to access and whether you require them to be linked to other data.

Unlinked National Survey for Wales datasets (UK Data Service)

The National Survey for Wales is a valuable source of information for policy development and evaluation. It runs all year round, across the whole of Wales, and collects data on topics such as: 

• local area
• community and environment
• wellbeing and finances
• housing
• democracy and governance
• population health
• internet
• skills and media
• culture and Welsh language
• sport and recreation
• children and education
• NHS and social care

You can access the National Survey for Wales via the UK Data Service. These data are made available subject to the UK Data Service End User Licence Agreement, a legally binding contract between researchers and the UK Data Service. The Agreement ensures that the data are handled ethically and legally.

Please view the series page for the National Survey for Wales and the list of available data collections. Users interested in accessing these data collections should visit the UK Data Service help page ‘How to download and order your data’.

For any queries on accessing these data collections please contact the UK Data Service Helpdesk.

Welsh Government approval is not sought as part of this process because the data collections contain unlinked survey data where the risk of identification is considered sufficiently remote compared to administrative data or linked datasets.

National Survey for Wales data is also available in the SAIL Databank where it can be linked to other datasets.

Other unlinked Welsh Government Datasets (WGSeRP)

Other unlinked Welsh Government datasets are available for researchers to access free of charge via the Welsh Government Secure e-Research Platform (WGSeRP). Contact ADR Wales for access.

Millennium cohort study linked education administrative datasets (KS1 and KS4), Wales (UK Data Service)

The Millennium Cohort Study is a large dataset that shows the different backgrounds of children born in the early 2000s. It includes education records for children in Wales up to age 16, linked with survey responses from the study.

You can find more information on the UK Data Service catalogue page.

To access this secure data, UK Data Service users must apply through SecureLab. Details on how to apply are available on the SecureLab application requirements page. The UK Data Service will contact the Welsh Government Data Access Panel for you.

The study can also be linked to education and health records in the SAIL Databank. SAIL includes a wide range of education data (from primary to higher education) which can be linked with other datasets. See Welsh Government data linked to other datasets (SAIL Databank).

Welsh Government data linked to other datasets

You can access a variety of Welsh Government datasets that can be linked to other data sources through the SAIL Databank. This is a secure and anonymised platform that hosts a large collection of health, social and administrative data from Wales and beyond.

You can apply for data access at the SAIL Databank. If you would like to access Welsh Government data in the SAIL Databank the SAIL team will liaise with the Welsh Government Data Access Panel on your behalf.

To explore what data is in SAIL, explore the ADR UK Data Catalogue. To browse datasets available in the SAIL Databank, select ‘Browse all’ and under ‘Partner’, select ‘SAIL Databank (Wales)’.

The Welsh Government Data Access Panel ensures that researchers' proposals for using data are sensible and well-informed.

If you are requesting access to Welsh Government data in SAIL or the UK Data Service, they will liaise with the Welsh Government Data Access Panel on your behalf. 

Approval from the Welsh Government Data Access Panel is not required if you are seeking access to unlinked National Survey for Wales data in the UK Data Service.

If you are requesting access to unlinked Welsh Government datasets in WGSeRP, contact ADR Wales. They will send you a research proposal template to complete.

Data access forms

If you are requesting access to Welsh Government data in SAIL or the UK Data Service SecureLab, they may ask you to complete a form. The UK Data Service website has contact information that will be able to give you advice specific to your requirements. Approval from the Welsh Government Data Access Panel is not required if you are seeking access to unlinked National Survey for Wales data in the UK Data Service.

If you are requesting access to unlinked Welsh Government datasets in WGSeRP, contact ADR Wales. They will send you a research proposal template to complete.

In some cases, you will be asked to complete a spreadsheet listing the variables you require and provide justification for these.

When requesting access to Welsh Government data be as clear as possible in your application on: 

• why you need to access the specific Welsh Government datasets and variables
• how you will use the data in your research

You will not be required to engage directly with the different stages of the Welsh Government Data Access Panel as SAIL, the UK Data Service or the Welsh Government ADR Wales team will undertake this on your behalf. 

We have included information on what is being assessed at each stage but if you wish to skip these, go straight to Access to data.

Data expert review

The ADR Wales team in Welsh Government will send your completed form to the relevant team in Welsh Government that has expertise in the data, ‘the data expert’. The data expert may have queries at this stage which they will feed back via SAIL or the UK Data Service, if you are seeking access to data in these Trusted Research Environments. If you are seeking access to Welsh Government data in WGSeRP, the Welsh Government ADR Wales team will feed these queries back to you directly.

The data experts will be asked to consider the following.

• Are the researchers' proposals for using the data broadly sensible?
• Are there any limitations in the data that the researchers may not have understood?
• Have the researchers requested any data for which they haven't given a sufficient rationale?
• Is there any other data they haven't asked for that might be useful?

What’s not in scope:

• a detailed review of the researchers’ methods
• privacy concerns

Panel review

The Panel consists of Welsh Government staff from a variety of grades and teams. Following the data expert approval the panel assesses:

• Does the proposal have public benefit?
• Is the proposal for genuine research or statistics purposes?
• Have any privacy implications been appropriately considered?
• Have any ethical implications been appropriately considered?

The panel may have queries which they will feed back via SAIL, the UK Data Service, or the Welsh Government ADR Wales team.

Information Asset Owner (IAO) sign off

Once the Panel has approved the request the final stage is sign-off by the relevant Information Asset Owner (IAO) in Welsh Government.

The relevant Trusted Research Environment or the Welsh Government ADR Wales team will inform you that your request has been fully approved. They will then arrange for you to have access to the data.

If you are accessing data in SAIL or the UK Data Service, they will arrange your data access for you. You do not need to engage further with the Welsh Government unless you require access to additional Welsh Government data.

To access data in the Welsh Government Secure e-Research Platform (WGSeRP) you will need to register as a user. If you are not already registered as a user, the Welsh Government will send you a short form asking for some details to enable a WGSeRP user account to be set up for you.

You will need to download a mobile authenticator app as the logging on process involves a two factor authentication.

Contact ADR Wales for more information.

Data Access Agreement

If you are accessing data via SAIL or the UK Data Service, you do not need to complete a Data Access Agreement with the Welsh Government because the Welsh Government already has Data Access Agreements with these Trusted Research Environments. SAIL or the UK Data Service may require you to complete their own Data Access Agreements, however.

If you are accessing data via WGSeRP you will be asked to complete a Data Access Agreement form that Welsh Government will provide.

Analysis 

Once you have been given access to the data, all your analysis will be undertaken within the WGSeRP platform

It will not be possible for you to transfer any files between WGSeRP and your local machine. If you require any files to be transferred contact ADR Wales.

Multiple analytical packages are available for analysis within WGSeRP.

Outputs 

Everything taken out of the platform needs to go through a ‘file out’ process for approval. This file out process involves disclosure controls to ensure anonymity from the analysis.