ONS coding system

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The Office for National Statistics coding system is a hierarchical code used in the United Kingdom for tabulating census and other statistical data.

Contents

[edit] Authorities, wards, and census areas

The code is constructed top down from a 4 character code representing a unitary authority or administrative county & district, eg:

00ECMiddlesbrough (unitary)
or
12Cambridgeshire county
12UBCambridge district

Local Government wards have a two-letter code within their local authority, and Census Output Areas an additional 4 digits within a ward. Census Output Areas (OAs) are the smallest unit for which census data is published - they contain at least 40 households (preferably 100), and are built up from postcode blocks after the census data is available, with a view to being socially as homogeneous as possible. A new set of Output Areas will be created for each decennial census. Census 2001 was the first to use this system - previously census data was published for larger Enumeration Districts which were delineated before the census was conducted. Enumeration Districts are still used for the collection of data but not for publication.

12UBCambridge district
12UBGAPetersfield Ward
12UBGA0001Output Area: Gwydir Street (north of junction with Hooper St)

The authority and ward codes are recognised by Eurostat as Local administrative unit code levels 1 & 2 within the NUTS system.

[edit] Civil parishes

An overlapping system encodes Civil Parish areas. Parishes are represented by an additional 3 digits within their local authority:

12UDFenland district
12UD010Tydd St. Giles parish

[edit] Super Output Areas

Super Output Areas (SOAs) are a set of geographies developed after the 2001 census. The aim was to produce a set of areas of consistent size, whose boundaries would not change (unlike electoral wards). They are an aggregation of adjacent Output Areas with similar social characteristics. Lower Layer SOAs typically contain 4 to 6 OAs with a population of around 1500. Middle Layer SOAs on average have a population of 7,200. Upper Layer SOAs are still being calculated; they are expected to cover a population of at least 25,000 each.[1][2]

[edit] ONS codes for counties & districts

Also showing NUTS(3) codes thus: (UKH12)

[edit] Single-tier districts

[edit] Two-tier counties & districts

[edit] Northern Ireland districts

[edit] Non-hierarchical codes for summary data in metropolitan areas

[edit] 2009 structural changes

The following changes will be made on 1st April 2009 to reflect the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. [3]

Current LA Name Current LA Code Description New UA code
Bedford 09UD 1 district abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Bedford 		00KB
Mid Bedfordshire
South Bedfordshire 		09UC
09UE 		2 districts abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Central Bedfordshire 		00KC
Congleton
Crewe and Nantwich
Macclesfield 		13UC
13UD
13UG 		3 districts abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Cheshire East 		00EQ
Chester
Ellesmere Port and Neston
Vale Royal 		13UB
13UE
13UH 		3 districts abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Chester 		00EW
Caradon
Carrick
Kerrier
North Cornwall
Penwith
Restormel 		15UB
15UC
15UD
15UE
15UF
15UG 		6 districts abolished - 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Cornwall 		00HE
Isles of Scilly 15UH Coding change only 00HF
Chester-le-Street
Derwentside
Durham
Easington
Sedgefield
Teesdale
Wear Valley 		20UB
20UD
20UE
20UF
20UG
20UH
20UJ 		7 districts abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called County Durham 		00EJ
Alnwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Blyth Valley
Castle Morpeth
Tynedale
Wansbeck 		35UB
35UC
35UD
35UE
35UF
35UG 		6 districts abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Northumberland 		00EM
Bridgnorth
North Shropshire
Oswestry
Shrewsbury and Atcham
South Shropshire 		39UB
39UC
39UD
39UE
39UF 		5 districts abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Shropshire 		00GG
Kennet
North Wiltshire
Salisbury
West Wiltshire 		46UB
46UC
46UD
46UF 		4 districts abolished – 1 unitary
authority created which will be
called Wiltshire 		00HY

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Beginners' Guide to UK Geography - Super Output Areas
  2. ↑ Super Output Areas: Frequently Asked Questions
  3. ↑ E-mail from ONS Geography Customer Services 2 Mar 2009

[edit] External links

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