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 Simon King. 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 meets about every 8 weeks and will approve applications on the basis of agreed criteria. Depending on when your application is received, you should allow about 4-8 weeks for your application to be processed and this is summarised in this flow chart.

For applications to be considered at the next CRAB meetings they should be received by:

• 07 November 2007
• 14 January 2008

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. To help you complete the application form, an example (in Word format) is provided as a guide . 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.

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. It should be noted that academic researchers will not be charged for the use of the CAMS unless their research is sponsored by private organisations (excluding research charities) and Government. These researchers and non-academic researchers will be charged £52 a day plus VAT when they use the CAMS. ONS will invoice these researchers.

Currently the CAMS can be accessed at ONS in a safe setting at either London, Newport, Titchfield or Southport. 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: 12 September 2007