VML microdata

Draft contents of the 2011 VML Microdata Products

As available 1/10/13

Variable / Approximate number of categories / Notes / Indiv. file / HH file
Unique Individual Reference No. / Unique ID for each individual
record /  / 
Household reference no. / Unique ID for each household / 
Unique ID for person in household / ID number for each person within a household / 
Family serial number / ID number for each family within a household / 
Address one year ago / 4 / Same address, same LA, elsewhere in UK, outside UK. /  / 
Number of adults in employment / numeric /  / 
Armed forces indicator for household reference person / 2 /  / 
Age / numeric /  / 
Age group for communal establishment / 4 / As census questionnaire / 
Activity last week / 7 / Type of economic activity in previous week: looking for work etc. /  / 
Mother of baby under 1 / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Number of Bedrooms / Numeric /  / 
Form completed on behalf of someone else / 2 / Yes/No / 
Bedrooms required using the bedroom standard / Numeric /  / 
Provision of care / 4 / As census questionnaire /  / 
Number of cars and vans / numeric (0-99) /  / 
Carstairs poverty index / 5 / Quintiles of index based on 2001 Census /  / 
Central heating / 6 / As census questionnaire /  / 
Passport held / 203 / Full country classification /  / 
Establishment client group / 21 / As census questionnaire, communal establishment “Which groups does this establishment cater for” / 
Country of Birth / 274 / Full country classification /  / 
Country of Birth of household reference person / 274 / Full country classification /  / 
Concealed family / 2 / Y/N /  / 
Country of residence / 4 / UK country /  / 
Number of care providers in household / numeric (0-30) /  / 
Dependent child indicator / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Education deprived / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Employment deprived / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Health and disability deprived / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Housing deprived / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Deprivation indicators / 5 / No. of dimensions 0-4, combination of individual deprivation factors /  / 
Long-term health problem / 3 / As census questionnaire /  / 
Family dependent children / 19 / 0, 1, 2, 3+ dependent children by age group of youngest /  / 
Household dependent children / 19 / 0, 1, 2, 3+ dependent children by age group of youngest /  / 
Distance travelled to work (or study in Scotland and Northern Ireland) / Numeric /  / 
Economic Activity[jcw1] / 19 / Detailed economic activity status, including whether student; FT/PT; employed/self employed; etc. /  / 
Indices of Multiple Deprivation (domains)
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Health
  • Income
/ 10 / Decile of each IMD ‘domain’ /  / 
Indices of Multiple Deprivation overalldecile/quintile / 10 / Decile and quintile of overall score using seven deprivation domains /  / 
Employment Status / 3 / As questionnaire – employed, self employed without employees, self employed with employees /  / 
Nature of Communal Establishment / 23 / As questionnaire - detailed breakdown of medical and care; education; armed forces; detention; temporary accommodation; and other / 
Ethnic group of household reference person / 18 / Mid-level ethnic group /  / 
Ethnicity / 152 / Full, detailed, ethnicity coding /  / 
Family status / 9 / Type of family (non, couple, lone parent) and position in family (child, part of couple etc) /  / 
Family type / 11 / Lone parent or couple family, with couples by type (married, civil partnership, cohabiting) and whether children are stepchildren to either member. /  / 
Number of dependent children living with parent and stepfather in family / numeric / 2 variables for whether family was recorded across relationship sheets or not. Max number counted: 0-4 depending on recording details /  / 
Number of dependent children living with parent and stepmother in family / numeric / 2 variables for whether family was recorded across relationship sheets or not. Max number counted: 0-4 depending on recording details /  / 
Number of dependent children, by age of youngest / 19 / 0, 1, 2, 3+ plus 6 age groups / 
Dependent children in family / 4 / No children, all dependent, dependent and non-dependent, all non-dependent
Number of dependent children in family / numeric /  / 
Number of non-dependent children living with parent and stepfather in family / numeric / 2 variables for whether family was recorded across relationship sheets or not. Max number counted: 0-4 depending on recording details /  / 
Number of non-dependent children living with parent and stepmother in family / numeric / 2 variables for whether family was recorded across relationship sheets or not. Max number counted: 0-4 depending on recording details /  / 
Number of non-dependent children / numeric / Counts 0-30 /  / 
Number of residents in family / numeric /  / 
Whether oldest child in family / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether family reference person / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Sex of family reference person / 2 / Male/Female /  / 
Family type – generation 1 / 10 / Type of family classified by people in generation 1 – cohabiting, civil partnership, lone parent (all by sex), married, single person. /  / 
Family type – generation 2 / 11 / Type of family classified by people in generation 2 – whether all are children of both of generation 1, or other combinations of children from either. /  / 
Whether child of (another resident in same household) / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
General Health / 5 / As Census questionnaire – very good, good, fair, bad, very bad /  / 
Whether grandchild (another resident in same household) / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether grandparent (another resident in same household) / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Household composition / 26 / Detailed HH composition married couple, single, same sex, etc. + 0, 1, or 2+ dep children, plus pensioner households, and other. /  / 
Alternative household composition / 11 / Households categorised by numbers of adults, pensioners and children present. /  / 
Household type / Under consideration / 
Alternative household type / 10 / Households categorised by type of couple family and whether they have dependent children, or other one/multi person household. /  / 
Household language / 4 / Households categorised by whether some/all/no members have English as their main language. /  / 
Level of highest qualifications / 7 / None, Level 1,2,3,4 or equivalents, apprenticeship, other vocational/foreign /  / 
Number of dependent grandchildren with female grandparent in household / numeric / 2 variables for whether family was recorded across relationship sheets or not. Max number counted: 0-all children counted depending on recording details /  / 
Number of dependent grandchildren with male grandparent in household / numeric / 2 variables for whether family was recorded across relationship sheets or not. Max number counted: 0-all children counted depending on recording details /  / 
Number of female pensioners in household / numeric /  / 
Number of male pensioners in household / numeric /  / 
Number of generations in direct descent spanned by household / 5 / 1,2,3,4, 5 or more generations /  / 
Number of male grandparents in household / 4 / 0,1,2,3 or more /  / 
Hours worked per week / 4 / As census questionnaire: <=15, 16-30, 31-48, 49+ /  / 
Number of people in household who provide care / 3 / 0,1,2 or more /  / 
Whether parent of household member / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether partner of household member / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether sibling of household member / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether spouse of household member / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether stepchild to household member / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether step-parent to household member / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Whether household reference person / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
National Identity / 411 / Full detailed classification /  / 
Number of individuals in household with long-term illness/disability / numeric / 0-30 /  / 
Industry / 197 / Detailed industry classification /  / 
Intention to stay in the UK / 3 / < 6 months, >= 6 months but < 12 months, >=12 months /  / 
Local authority of residence[jcw2] / 400 / Local authority/local government district code /  / 
Type of landlord / 6 / As Census questionnaire – housing association/social landlord, council, private landlord, employer, relative /  / 
English speaking proficiency / 4 / As Census questionnaire – very well, well, not well, not at all /  / 
Living arrangements / 11 / Categorises people by whether they are living in a couple or not and their marital status /  / 
Local authority of workplace / 400 / Local authority/local government district code /  / 
Local authority of address one year ago / 400 / Local authority/local government district code /  / 
Main language / 604 / Full detailed language classification /  / 
Whether main language is English / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Marital status / 9 / As Census questionnaire /  / 
Age difference between mother and eldest child / numeric / Age difference in single years from 12 to 66 /  / 
Multiple ethnic identities within household / 5 / Whether all household members are same ethnic group, or different groups between generations and/or within partnerships /  / 
Change of address since one year ago / 8 / Categorises people by location of address one year ago – whether in same country of UK, region, local authority, super output area etc. /  / 
Indices of Multiple Deprivation (domains) for area where person lived one year ago
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Health
  • Income
/ 10 / Variables for each IMD ‘domain’ giving decile for super output area of address one year ago. /  / 
Indices of Multiple Deprivation overall decilefor area where person lived one year ago / 10 / Decile and quintile of overall score using the seven deprivation domains for super output area of address one year ago. /  / 
Wholly moving household / 3 / Categorises whether all or some residents of a household moved together from the same address one year ago. /  / 
Multiple religions in household / 9 / Combinations of whether some/all members of household have the same religion/no religion/did not state religion /  / 
Management of communal establishment / 7 / As Census questionnaire – type of organisation responsible for management of communal establishment / 
Local authority of migrant origin / Local authority code for address one year ago /  / 
Month of birth of individual / 12 /  / 
Distance moved from address one year ago / numeric / Distance in tenths of km /  / 
Region of address one year ago / 14 / UK region/country of address one year ago, or abroad /  / 
Age of mother / numeric / Single years from 12 to 115 /  / 
Moving group identifier / Identifier for each moving group (a group of people moving from the same address one year ago) in household / 
Number of people in moving group / numeric / Number of people in household who moved from the same address one year ago / 
National identities:
  • British
  • English
  • Scottish
  • Welsh
  • Northern Irish
  • Cornish
  • Other
/ 4 / One variable for each of the national identities listed. Categorises whether a person has this identity only, in combination with another or does not have the identity. /  / 
National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification / 40 /  / 
National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification of household reference person / 40 /  / 
Output area classification / 52 / Under consideration /  / 
Occupation / 369 / Detailed classification /  / 
Person of exact pensionable age / 2 / Yes/No – age 65 for males and 60 for females /  / 
Person of pensionable age / 2 / Yes/No – age 65 for both sexes /  / 
Pensioner household / 10 / Households by number of people of pensionable age, by age and sex of pensioners /  / 
Usual resident, student living away or short term resident / 3 /  / 
Population density of LSOA / 10 / 10 roughly equal bands /  / 
Position in communal establishment / 3 / As census form – Resident, staff or owner, family of staff or owner / 
Number of persons per room / 4 / <=0.5, >0.5 and <=1.0, >1.0 and <=1.5, >1.5 /  / 
Age of partner / numeric /  / 
Ethnic group of partner / 18 / Mid-level ethnic group /  / 
Marital status of partner / 9 / Categories as on Census questionnaire /  / 
Passports held:
  • UK
  • Irish
  • Other
  • None
/ 2 / One variable for each of the 4 groups shown. Yes/No classification of whether person has that type of passport. /  / 
Internet completion[jcw3] / 2 / Yes/no
Qualifications:
  • 1-4 O Levels, etc
  • NVQ Level 1, etc
  • 5+ O Level (Passes), etc
  • NVQ Level 2, etc
  • Apprenticeship
  • 2+ A Levels, etc
  • NVQ Level 3, etc
  • degree, etc
  • NVQ Level 4-5, etc
  • professional qualifications
  • other vocational/work related qualifications
  • foreign qualifications
  • no qualifications
/ 2 / One variable for each qualifications group shown. . Yes/No classification of whether person has that type of qualification. /  / 
Government Office Region of usual residence / 13 / Regions of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland /  / 
Religion / 8 / As Census questionnaire /  / 
Relationship to male in generation 1 in household / 13 / Relationships as shown in Census questionnaire /  / 
Residence type / 2 / Household, communal establishment / 
Number of rooms / numeric / 1-99 /  / 
In a same sex couple / 5 / Whether person is in civil partnership, cohabiting in same sex couple, or dissolved, survived, separated from same sex partner. /  / 
Local authority of second address / 400 / Local authority code of second address. / 
Type of second address / 7 / Categories as on Census questionnaire. Multiple options could be ticked so variable used is a string of 7 characters, each 1 or 0 /  / 
Approximated social grade / 7 /  / 
Approximated social grade of household reference person / 7 /  / 
Whether accommodation is self contained / 2 / Yes (all rooms behind a door that only the household can use), No /  / 
Sex / 2 /  / 
Single adult household / 2 / Yes (household contains only 1 adult), No /  / 
Household size / numeric / 0 to 30 residents /  / 
Establishment caters for persons sleeping rough / 2 / Yes/ No / 
Local Authority of residence / Local Authority code /  / 
Standard Occupation Classification / 81 / Detailed occupation classification /  / 
Country of second address / 6 / England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, outside UK, no second address /  / 
Household with students away during term-time / 9 / Households by number of students away from home, and how many students are aged over 18. /  / 
Student’s living accommodation / 8 / Whether a student is living with parents, in a communal establishment, student household, alone etc. /  / 
Whether a full time student / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Location of student’s non term-time address / Output area code /  / 
Whether supervises employees in main job / 2 / Yes/No /  / 
Household owns or rents / 5 / As Census questionnaire /  / 
Dwelling owned or rented / 10 / As above, with rented categories split by landlord type /  / 
Townsend Poverty Index / 10 / Variable giving Townsend quintile of the LSOA. /  / 
Method of travel to work / 11 / As Census questionnaire /  / 
Local authority of work/study destination / Local Authority code (workplace only in England and Wales) /  / 
Type of accommodation / 7 / As on Census questionnaire – eg detached house, in a purpose built block of flats etc /  / 
Unemployment history / 13 / Year last worked in individual years for 2011 to 2001, all years before 2001 in single category /  / 
Urban or rural area / 6 / Urban, Town & Fringe, village, hamlet – all split into sparse/less sparse by density /  / 
Number of visitors on census night / numeric / 0-99 /  / 
Whether household space is unoccupied on census day / 2 / Yes/No – Yes includes vacant households as well as holiday homes/second residences /  / 
Number of workers in generation 1 of family / 3 / 0,1,2 people in first generation working /  / 
Household composition by Welsh speakers (Wales) / 15 / Households categorised by type (single person, couple family, lone parent, other) by number of Welsh speaking adults/children /  / 
Type of workplace / 4 / Works at fixed location, home, no fixed place, offshore installation /  / 
For Welsh language, whether
  • reads
  • speaks
  • understands
  • writes
(Wales only) / 2 / One variable for each skill – Yes/No /  / 
Comparison of work and home locations / 5 / Workplace and home address in either same/different workplace zone or LA. /  / 
Workplace location / 6 / No fixed place, home, in same LA as residence, outside LA but in GB, NI, outside UK /  / 
Workers in household and their transport to work / 17 / Categorises households by number of people working and their combination of methods of travel to work /  / 
Year of arrival in the UK / 116 / Individual years from 1896 to 2011 /  / 
Generation in family / 4 / Parent, child, ungrouped person, unknown / 
Relationships to each other person in household (1 variable for each relationship) / 13 / 15 variables to classify relationships with up to 15 other household members. Each variable classifies the individual’s relationship to one other member of the household, using the 13 relationship categories on the census questionnaire. / 
Place of work or study for Scotland/Northern Ireland residents / 5 / Works at fixed location, home, no fixed place, offshore installation /  / 
Ethnic Group (Northern Ireland only) / 14 /  / 
Relationship to household reference person / 13 / uses the 13 relationship categories on the census questionnaire /  / 
Relationship to household reference person's spouse/partner / 13 / uses the 13 relationship categories on the census questionnaire /  / 

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[jcw1]May be provided in the form of separate variables for different statuses.

[jcw2]Where authorities have been merged to form new large authorities, it may be possible to distinguish previously separate authorities to improve comparability with 1991.

[jcw3]Row added by JW, UK Data Service