The survey presents a picture of households, families and people living in Great Britain. This information is used by government departments and other organisations, such as educational establishments, businesses and charities, to contribute to policy decisions and for planning and monitoring purposes.
The main aim of the GHS is to collect data on a range of core topics. These are households, families and people, housing tenure and household accommodation, access to and ownership of consumer durables, employment, education, health and use of health services, smoking, drinking, family information, including marriage, cohabitation and fertility,income, demographic information about household members, migration.
For the past 32 years, the GHS has documented the major changes that have occurred in households and families. These include the decline in average household size and the growth in the proportion of the population who live alone, the increase in the proportion of families headed by a lone parent and in the percentage of people who are cohabiting.
It has also recorded changes in housing, such as the growth of home-ownership, and the increasing proportion of homes with such household facilities and goods as central heating, washing machines, and, more recently, home computers and access to the Internet. The survey also monitors trends in the prevalence of smoking and drinking.
Fieldwork for the GHS is conducted on a financial year basis, with interviewing taking place continuously throughout the year. A sample of approximately 13,000 addresses is selected each year from the Postcode Address File.
All adults aged 16 and over are interviewed in each household that responds. Demographic and health information is also collected about children in the household. For 2002/2003, the survey response rate was 69%, with an achieved sample size of 8,620 households and 20,149 people of all ages (see Appendix B).
The 2002/2003 survey
The 2002/2003 survey was the third year of fieldwork following the introduction of the recommendations of the GHS review in 1997. Following the review, the survey was re-launched from April 2000 with a different design. The relevant development work and the changes made are described in the 2000 survey report.
For further background information about the General Household Survey, please download the Introduction PDF on the right-hand side of the page.
Source: Living in Britain 2002, published 2004
Note: Prior to 1988 fieldwork was conducted on a calendar year basis.
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