Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection – England and Wales
The AD|ARC (Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection) datasets link information on farm business activities with data about the people in households who operate and generally live on farms. All records are de-identified. The datasets also include three control groups of non-farming individuals, and a control group of households, living in similarly rural areas. Research using the data will enable better understanding of the demographic, health, education and economic characteristics of households associated with different types and sizes of farm business. This will provide new insights for decision makers to improve agricultural and rural policies and enhance the wellbeing of farmers and their households.
The data linkage is the result of a collaboration between government and academic organisations across the UK, including the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Public Health Wales. While data currently available only covers England and Wales, it is anticipated that data for Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow. Methods for cross-UK federated analysis are in development.
AD|ARC currently includes two datasets which are each available for access by accredited researchers:
- Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection: 2011 – England
- Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection: 2011 – Wales.
Component datasets and linkage
AD|ARC links de-identified electronic records that are already collected by departments and public bodies across the governments of the UK. The datasets included in AD|ARC 2011 are: 2010 EU Farm Structure Surveys (England and Wales), 2010 Rural Payments subsidy data (England and Wales), 2011 Census of Population (England and Wales), Inter-Departmental Business Register (currently England only; Wales can be linked separately. Dates vary by dataset). Additional de-identified health and education datasets held by the various government administrations in the UK may be linked in future where available and where appropriate legal gateways exist.
| Timeframe | 2010 - 2020 (varies by dataset) |
|---|---|
| Update Frequency | Currently static |
| Population | Individuals living in farming households in England and Wales claiming SPS 2010 subsidy payments; control groups of non-farming individuals living in similarly rural areas. |
| Coverage | England and Wales. The AD|ARC dataset for Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow. |
| Size | Approx. 170,000 individuals resident in approx. 60,000 farms claiming subsidies in England. Approx. 50,000 individuals resident in approx. 18,000 farming households claiming subsidies in Wales. |
An additional resource, in the form of a second dataset for England and Wales separately, will be available in soon. This will contain comparable de-identified information as the baseline for a more recent time period (including Census of Population 2021).
Examples of research questions
Examples of research questions the data could be used to address:
- What are the characteristics of farming households that receive farm subsidies?
- Is the educational attainment of farmers uniform and is it different from non-farming rural contemporaries?
- How important is farm income as a share of total household income? Does this vary depending on different farm business, household socio-economic, and spatial attributes?
- What effect does being part of a farm household have on health and wellbeing outcomes, and does this vary by farm characteristics?
The above list is illustrative only and intended to demonstrate the research potential of the dataset. For AD|ARC’s research priorities, please see the areas of research interest and priority research questions for AD|ARC.
Core documentation
Other supporting resources
Resource | Description |
Census statistics help paint a picture of the nation and how we live. Find out more about the 2011 Census on the ONS website.
| |
The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) is a comprehensive list of UK businesses used by government for statistical purposes. | |
This survey obtains reliable data, at regular intervals, on the structure of agricultural holdings in the EU. | |
Rural Payments subsidy data | Find out more about the Rural Payments subsidy data for England and Wales. Please note that Rural Payments are a devolved issue so what is collected and by whom varies across the UK. |
| June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture | The June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture provides estimates of agricultural activity in England and Wales on an annual basis. |
The project website including publications, documentation and news. |
Accessing the data
Access the AD|ARC England dataset via the ONS Secure Research Service. Access the AD|ARC Wales Dataset via the SAIL Databank. Researchers who are fully accredited under the Digital Economy Act (2017) can apply for access.
More information on how to access the AD|ARC dataset will be available soon. Please contact ad-arc@gov.wales with any questions.
ADR UK Research Fellowships
ADR UK is funding policy-relevant research using ADR England flagship datasets. Research Fellows will address priority research questions, generate insights and demonstrate the value of ADR England data. These datasets are held securely in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Secure Research Service or other trusted research environments. Research undertaken by Fellows extends to Wales and uses AD|ARC data held in SAIL Databank at Swansea University.
Find out more
You can find more information about the AD|ARC project and datasets on the AD|ARC Website, the AD|ARC project page, and via the ADR UK YouTube Channel.
The linked datasets are accessible separately within the ONS Secure Research Service for England, the SAIL Databank for Wales and will be made available via NISRA in Northern Ireland and Scotland’s National Safe Haven. Information about access points for each trusted research environment is available via the ADR UK website.
