Applications to use the Controlled Access Microdata Sample (CAMS) records from the 2001 Census are reviewed by the Census Research Access Board (CRAB), led by ONS and chaired by Judy Hawkins. Membership includes representatives of ONS, General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), Northern Ireland Statistical Research Agency (NISRA) and The Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR).

The CRAB will approve applications on the basis of agreed criteria. Depending on when your application is received, you should allow about 4 weeks for your application to be processed and this is summarised in this flow chart.

To apply for access you should complete an application form (in word format) and email it to sars@ons.gsi.gov.uk. Informal queries should also be sent to this email address and a response to your query or application will be provided. When completing the application form all researchers will need to confirm they have read the CAMS User Guide. The CRAB terms of reference and criteria for approval are also available (in Word format) for information.

On 1 April 2008, the Statistics and Registration Services Act 2007 came into force and led ONS to review its data access practices to ensure that they are in line with this new legislation. All people applying for CAMs data will have to be Approved Researchers. Details for how to apply to become an approved researcher are here.

If access to the CAMS is approved, the researcher’s institution will be required to sign a Data Access Agreement covering the application. When the researchers first visit ONS to use the CAMS they will be asked to sign an undertaking to comply with conditions of access and that they have read, and agree to adhere by, the Census Confidentiality Guidelines.

Currently the CAMS can be accessed at ONS in a safe setting at either London, Newport, or Titchfield. It is hoped that this access will be extended to sites in Edinburgh and Belfast soon. Appropriate software such as SPSS, STATA, Excel and Word will normally be available. MLWin can be made available for those who are covered by their own site or individual licence, licence details will be required. In special circumstances requests for additional software may be considered.

The outputs (such as tables or regressions) produced using the CAMS will be checked by ONS for disclosiveness using the confidentiality guidelines provided here (in Word format) before they can be removed from the safe setting. These checks will normally be completed within a week of the output being submitted. For information on approved microdata requests including CAMS records of 2001 Census, please see access to ONS microdata.

A test dataset for the individual CAMS is available, from CCSR, for download to registered users. This test dataset is available for potential CAMS users to check that the CAMS would be suitable for their proposed research. Researchers whose CAMS application has been approved can also use this test dataset for preparing their syntax in advance of using the CAMS. Please note that this dummy dataset is not a substitute for the CAMS dataset, since it has been heavily treated and reduced in size in order to fully protect against disclosure. It is therefore not suitable for research purposes, only for the purposes above

This page last revised: 04 June 2008