Survey of People, Families and Communities

Why is the survey being carried out?

The survey is being carried out for the Home Office. It is designed to find out about the role individuals and families play in their local community - their views about their neighbourhood, their involvement in voluntary activity, their contacts with relatives and friends, perceptions of racial prejudice and experience of racial discrimination. The information collected will be used by the Home Office to help monitor performance targets and to plan new initiatives to build stronger families and communities.

The survey was first carried out in 2001. It is being repeated every two years.

How is the survey carried out?

The sample has two components:

• 10,000 interviews with a representative sample of adults aged 16 or over living in England and Wales.
• An additional 5,000 interviews with people who are Black, Asian, Chinese or from any other non-white group. These interviews will be achieved by:
  • screening addresses adjacent to the main sample address, and
  • a boost sample obtained via a doorstep sift in areas with a large non-white population.

In addition, in the 2003 survey, interviews are being carried out with 1,100 children aged 8-10 years and 1,700 young people aged 11-15 years. These samples are selected from households containing an eligible adult respondent.

What topics does the survey cover?

The survey covers the following topics:

• Family networks and support to parents
• Neighbourhood and community activity
• Formal and informal voluntary activity
• Racial prejudice and religious affiliation
• Rights and responsibilities
• Demographic and classificatory data

When is the research taking place?

Main stage fieldwork for the 2003 Survey is taking place in March-September 2003.

Where can the results be found?

A preliminary report of the findings from the 2001 Survey can be found on: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/infindin.pdf

For more information about SSD or the surveys we carry out contact:
SSD Project Support Branch Tel: +44 (0)20 7533 5500 or e-mail: ssdpsb@ons.gov.uk

This page last revised: Thursday, 16 October 2003