UKBORDERS becomes UK Data Service Census Support

The UK Data Service Census Support launched on 22 March 2013. It brings together, under the umbrella of the UK Data Service, core investment by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the population census.

Census Support provides access to and support for the resources of the population censuses from 1971 to 2011, and includes the output of the census geography data and look-up tables, the aggregate statistics, the flow (interaction) data, and anonymised microdata.

The new service provides a continuation of the old ESRC Census Programme but makes the discovery, access and use of the census materials more coherent and integrated.

UKBORDERS continues to power the underlying tools used to extract and download the census geography resources but is now subsumed within the larger holistic banner of Census Support. Users of UKBORDERS will notice aesthetic and branding changes but otherwise functionality and data delivery remain unaffected. User support and help will be administered centrally via UK Data Service, and serviced by each of the specialist census unit support teams as appropriate.

Simultaneous with the launch of Census Support, new 2011 census geography data has been released, including English and Welsh Output Areas (OAs), Lower Super OAs, Middle Super OAs, and a range of derived higher geographies as well as new 2011 products: Merged Wards and Workplace Zones. Northern Irish Small Area data has also been released with Scottish products anticipated over the next few months.