Got questions about the study? Check out the FAQs below. If you can’t find what you are looking for, contact us. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.
We’ve followed your journey from the very beginning, tracking how your lives have changed over this time.
In this next survey we’re keen to hear about your relationships with family and friends, as well as support you might be giving others. This period can also be a turning point for people’s health, which can have an impact on how retirement and later life looks, so we’ll be asking questions about this too. We’re keen to hear about what thought – if any – you’ve given to retirement, and if you’re planning to stop work at state pension age or extend your working lives beyond this, whether through choice or necessity.
Your experiences at 56 will help us understand how your generation is navigating midlife, and will shape research and policy that benefits everyone.
The survey will be completed online and will cover topics such as home life, relationships, housing, finances, health and wellbeing, leisure activities and attitudes.
There will also be a couple of questions that ask you to reflect on the past and future in your own words. We will also ask you to complete a memory exercise which will involve listening to a recording.
In all, it should take around 50 minutes to complete the whole questionnaire.
After you’ve completed the questionnaire, we will invite you to complete a set of online problem-solving tasks. There’s more information about these later on in these frequently asked questions.
We will invite all study members to take part, including those living outside the UK, unless you have previously said that you no longer want to be included. If you have not received an invite and you are expecting one, this could be because we don’t have your current contact details. Please do get in touch so we can check this.
We often take a phased approach to invites – sending them out in batches. For this latest survey, some people will be contacted in late June 2026, for others it will be September or October when you hear from us.
The online questionnaire will take around 50 minutes.
The problem-solving tasks take around 25 minutes in total, though this may vary slightly depending on your pace and circumstances. Each individual task takes around 2–3 minutes. You can take breaks between tasks if needed and return to where you left off using your login details or the link we sent you.
You will receive an invite by email and in the post. Once you get this, you can either click on the link in your email or you can go to the survey website (mysurvey.natcen.ac.uk/cohortstudy) and enter your personal access code from your invite.
You will be asked to enter your date of birth and then you will be able to start the survey.
If you have any problems taking part online, please contact the NatCen research team by email at bcs70@natcen.ac.uk or on 0800 526 397 between 9am to 7pm on Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm on Friday, 10am to 3pm on Saturday (free from UK landlines and mobiles, charges may apply outside the UK).
Yes, you can complete the questionnaire on a smartphone as well as PC, laptop or tablet – whichever is most convenient for you.
For the problem-solving tasks, you can use any device but we would recommend completing them using one with a larger screen, if possible, like a laptop or iPad.
Yes. Your answers are saved automatically as you go, so you can pause and return at any time using the same login details. You will not lose any progress if you close your browser or your device runs out of battery. However, if possible, we recommend completing it in one sitting if you can.
You can also pause the problem-solving tasks to return to them later if needed. You can read more about this later on in these frequently asked questions.
We hope most of you will be able to complete the questionnaire online, but we know this may not be possible for everyone. If you are unable to access a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone, if a health condition or disability makes it difficult to use these devices, or if you simply prefer not to take part online, please do not worry. Please get in touch using the contact details on your invite and we will send you a paper version of the questionnaire.
However, the problem-solving tasks can only be completed online. If you have difficulty accessing the tasks, please contact the NatCen team by email at bcs70@natcen.ac.uk or on 0800 526 397 between 9am to 7pm on Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm on Friday, 10am to 3pm on Saturday (free from UK landlines and mobiles, charges may apply outside the UK).
We aimed to make the online questionnaire accessible and easy for everyone to use.
The online questionnaire features:
Please note that the online questionnaire does not fully support screen readers due to the way some questions are designed.
If you are unable to complete the questionnaire online – for example, due to a visual impairment, disability, or any other reason – you can request a paper version of the questionnaire.
To request this or for further assistance, please contact the NatCen research team by email at bcs70@natcen.ac.uk or 0800 526 397?between 9am to 7pm on Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm on Friday, 10am to 3pm on Saturday (free from UK landlines and mobiles, charges may apply outside the UK).
No special preparation is needed, but here are a couple of things that will help:
A private / quiet space: We recommend completing the questionnaire somewhere private and quiet where you will not be disturbed.
Headphones or speakers: One section of the questionnaire involves listening to a recording, so you will need to be able to play audio on your device. You might need headphones or speakers to ensure you can hear properly.
If you live with a partner, we ask a small number of questions about them to better understand how shared circumstances shape people’s lives. Please check that your partner is happy for you to answer these questions. As always, if you prefer not to answer a particular question, you can skip it.
Please try to log in again after 20 minutes if you receive an error message that says “Record locked”. If you have the same problem after 20 minutes, NatCen will be able to help you access your survey again: bcs70@natcen.ac.uk or on 0800 526 397 between 9am to 7pm on Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm on Friday, 10am to 3pm on Saturday (free from UK landlines and mobiles, charges may apply outside the UK).
The problem-solving tasks are a set of short online exercises designed to assess cognitive function — that is, how the brain processes and responds to information. The tasks measure things such as how long you can focus on something without making errors, how much information you can hold in memory at one time, and how you approach and solve logical problems.
You may remember completing similar problem-solving tasks as part of previous BCS70 surveys. Asking you to do tasks like these helps us better understand how the brain works and how cognitive function can change throughout our lives. It also helps us explore how life experiences and circumstances, such as education, work and health, may influence reasoning and problem-solving skills in later life.
After we have sent invites to complete the online questionnaire, we will send you a separate invite with information about the tasks we’d like you to do. The tasks can only be completed online, so you will need a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Before each task begins, you will be given clear instructions explaining what to do, and you will have the chance to practise before the actual task starts. Once you have finished one task, you will be automatically directed to the next.
We are committed to making these tasks as accessible as reasonably possible while ensuring that the assessments continue to measure the cognitive abilities they are designed to assess.
Where appropriate, the problem-solving tasks include accessibility features such as:
Some assessments are specifically designed to evaluate visual cognitive abilities, such as visual attention, spatial memory, pattern recognition, and reaction time. In these assessments, the visual presentation of information is an essential part of what is being measured. For this reason, certain visual tasks are not suitable for screen readers or non-visual interaction, as changing the way information is presented would fundamentally alter the assessment itself.
The tasks are designed to be challenging, so please do not worry if you find them hard — just do your best. It is important that you complete the tasks yourself without help from anyone else.
No — your participation is entirely voluntary. You can choose to complete just the questionnaire and opt out of the problem-solving tasks. Or you can choose to do the tasks and opt out of the questionnaire. If you do decide to complete the tasks, you can stop at any point if you no longer wish to continue. Your decision will not affect your ongoing participation in BCS70 and any contribution you can make to this survey will still be really valuable.
We would be very grateful if you could complete all of the tasks, as this will make the results most useful for research. However, you don’t have to. The information from any tasks that you do complete will still be really valuable.
If you are having difficulty accessing the tasks, you are welcome to ask someone to help you get set up. However, once you begin the tasks themselves, it is important that you complete them on your own without any assistance, as the results are only meaningful if they are completed by you.
No — you cannot retake the tasks, as repeating them would affect the results.
We are not able to provide individual results. The tasks are used for research purposes and interpreting how someone has done requires specialist training alongside a detailed understanding of a person’s wider circumstances. If taking part raises any concerns for you, we recommend speaking with your GP.
Please try not to worry — the tasks are designed to be challenging, and how people find them varies widely. Completing these tasks cannot tell you anything definitive about your health. If taking part raises any concerns for you, we encourage you to speak to your GP, who will be able to offer appropriate advice and, if necessary, refer you for a proper assessment. You can also find information and support on our helplines page.
The tasks have been thoroughly tested and are considered safe for people with epilepsy. There are no known cases of the tasks having triggered a seizure. That said, if at any point you feel uncomfortable or unwell while completing the tasks, please stop immediately and do not continue.
Please stop and take a break. You can return to the tasks at any time using your login details or the link we sent you, and you will continue from where you left off. There is no time pressure — please only continue when you feel ready.
The tasks are designed to work on most modern internet browsers and devices. If they will not run or you experience technical difficulties, try updating your browser, switching to a different browser, or using a different device. Your progress is saved, so you will be able to pick up where you left off on a new device.
If you encounter an error partway through, try refreshing the page or returning to the site a little later. You should end up back where you left off.
If problems persist, please contact the NatCen team by email at bcs70@natcen.ac.uk or on 0800 526 397 between 9am to 7pm on Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm on Friday, 10am to 3pm on Saturday (free from UK landlines and mobiles, charges may apply outside the UK).
You can switch to a different device at any time — your progress will be saved and you will be able to continue from where you left off when you log back in. A tablet, laptop or PC may give you a better experience if you are finding the screen size difficult.
No — sessions do not time out. However, please do try to complete each task as quickly and accurately as you can.
If you were interrupted or unable to finish for any reason, simply use the same link we sent you to return to the tasks. The software will take you back to where you left off, so you will not need to repeat any tasks you have already completed. This will also work from a different device.
Do not worry — your progress is saved automatically. Use your login details or click on the link we sent you and you will be taken back to the point you had reached. This will also work from a different device, if needed.
This can occasionally happen if, for example, your internet connection is briefly interrupted. Simply refresh your browser or click on the same link we sent you to return to the tasks. The software will take you back to where you left off, so you will not need to repeat any completed tasks. This will also work if you switch to a different device.
We aim to make taking part a positive experience. If reflecting on life raises any concerns, information about organisations that can offer support is available on our helplines page.
The study is managed by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Social Research Institute, a department of University College London (UCL).
You can find out more on the ‘Management and funding’ and ‘Meet the team’ pages.
For individual surveys, we will often work alongside an independent research organisation as they have the resources to help administer large scale surveys.
On the Age 56 Survey, we are working with NatCen Social Research. They are responsible for contacting you and managing your involvement in the problem-solving tasks.
The tasks themselves have been designed and are hosted by H2 Cognitive Designs. No information that could identify you is shared with H2 Cognitive Designs, and no information about your task responses is shared with NatCen.
The Age 56 Survey is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
The problem-solving tasks are funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society (US). These are leading charities that fund and support research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. They have recognised that BCS70 – with its unique record of following the same group of people across their entire lives -is a vital resource for studying how Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia develop over time. By linking the rich information collected by BCS70 over decades with the results of the problem-solving tasks we are asking you to complete in this survey, researchers will be able to explore in detail how experiences and circumstances across the life course may affect different skills in later life. We also hope to repeat these tasks in future surveys, so that we can track how skills change as study members age – something that is crucial to understanding the early signs of dementia. We hope this will contribute to breakthroughs in the early detection of Alzheimer’s dementia, which could in turn improve people’s chances of benefiting from earlier treatment.
This latest survey has been reviewed and approved by the Institute of Education Ethics Committee. The ethics approval reference number is REC2361. The data protection reference number for this project is Z6364106/2026/02/125.
NatCen Social Research is conducting the Age 56 Survey on behalf of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at UCL. NatCen holds your contact details during the survey period so that they can invite you to the survey and the problem-solving tasks, and send reminders if needed.
Your answers to the survey are kept securely on NatCen’s servers through the data collection period, and are securely transferred over to UCL soon after.
The problem-solving tasks have been designed and are hosted by H2 Cognitive Designs, which means your task responses are stored on their secure servers. H2 Cognitive Designs do not have access to your name or contact details. Once complete, H2 Cognitive Designs will securely transfer the data to UCL. NatCen will not receive any of your task responses.
At UCL, researchers will use internal study ID numbers to combine your task data with your survey responses — your name is never attached to your answers. This means that responses can never be identified.
As with all our surveys, your answers are combined with responses from other participants and made securely available to researchers via the UK Data Service and other trusted repositories. This data is used to inform research into your generation.
For more information on how your data is used, please visit our privacy page: bcs70.info/privacy.
If you have any questions about the Age 56 Survey, including the problem-solving tasks, please contact the NatCen research team by email at bcs70@natcen.ac.uk or 0800 526 397 between 9am to 7pm on Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm on Friday, 10am to 3pm on Saturday (free from UK landlines and mobiles, charges may apply outside the UK).
The collection of blood samples will help us to carry out important health research. For example, researchers could use information from the survey and blood sample to understand things like how diet may influence cholesterol, or how different lifestyles can affect the chances of heart disease.
If you gave your permission, we will have stored DNA from your blood to use in future research. Previous research shows that an increasing number of illnesses have a genetic element, including cancer, diabetes, asthma and certain heart conditions.
Looking at the genes from a large number of people, combined with all of the other information we have collected about your health and your lifestyle, will help researchers to identify which genes are linked to certain conditions. This will help with understanding who is most at risk, which may in turn lead to improved diagnosis, treatment and disease prevention.
If you consented to us extracting DNA from your blood sample, we will not be able to provide you with the results of genetic testing. The tests that will be done on your DNA are for research purposes, and are not the same as clinical genetic tests. The results cannot be used for individual diagnosis. As such, we will not routinely feed back your individual results, but we will share the broader findings from the research with all study members, in our regular mailings and on our website.
BCS70 will not use your DNA for cloning humans. The use of human tissue and DNA is strictly controlled. The organisations that fund this research, the UCL Social Research Institute and the Access Committee, do not allow human cloning.
You can withdraw your consent for the use of your samples at any time, without giving any reasons, by writing to us at 1970 British Cohort Study, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL Social Research Institute, 20 Bedford Way London, WC1H 0AL. We will then inform the laboratory and the stocks of your samples will be destroyed.
Life for your generation is different to the lives of your parents and grandparents, and to the lives of younger generations. So we are following your lives to understand and learn from your special generation.
The 1970s, when you were born, was a decade of economic instability and growing inequality. While unemployment was low in the early 1970s, the decade saw growing industrial and social unrest. Strike action culminated in the ‘winter of discontent’ in 1978-79, and the Troubles began to unfold in Northern Ireland.
More than a third of you lived in council housing at the age of 5. In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female Prime Minister. A global economic recession overshadowed much of the 1980s. Several public industries were privatised, and much of the state’s social housing stock was sold off under the ‘right to buy’. Today, home ownership remains lower among your generation than for those born in 1946 and 1958.
There were significant reforms to education when you were young. The vast majority of you attended comprehensive schools, following the slow decline in grammar schools and secondary moderns throughout the 1970s. By age 42, a quarter of you had a university degree. While this may seem low by contemporary standards, it is significantly higher than amongst those born in 1946 and 1958. Less than one in five of those born in 1958 and fewer than one in ten born in 1946 obtained a degree. The greatest advances were made by women – 25 per cent of women born in 1970 have university degrees, compared to just 6 per cent of women born in 1946.
But while educational opportunities improved for your generation, general health has worsened. Convenience foods became more common in the 1980s, as did car ownership. People became less and less physically active. By the age of 16, those born in 1970 were significantly more overweight than generations before them. You also drank more during your teenage years, but were less likely to smoke.
These are just of the few of the differences between your generation and the lives of older and younger generations. We want to know how your experiences have impacted on your life so far and how they will affect the rest of your life.
By taking part in BCS70, you are acting as the voice of your generation. You are one of around 17,000 people who have taken part over the years. Each and every one of you brings something unique to the study, and together, you represent the diversity of the BCS70 generation. That’s why it’s so important that people from all different sorts of backgrounds continue to take part in the study. Without you, we don’t hear the whole story and the picture is not complete.
To learn more about why the study was started, visit the ‘History of the study’ page.
In the late 1960s, there was a lot of concern about the number of babies born with abnormalities, or dying very early in life. Doctors and others wished to examine the factors associated with good health in mothers and babies. It was decided that the best way to do this would be to study all the babies born in Britain in one week – and that just happened to be the week in 1970 when you were born! The midwives who delivered the 17,000 of you born in England, Wales and Scotland in that week asked your mothers if they would be willing to take part in the study which was then known as the British Births Survey.
Five years later it was decided that it would be worthwhile to try and find as many of your families again, to see what had happened to you – how healthy you were, how you were getting on at school and so on. Since then, as you know, the study has gone on to follow you throughout the rest of your childhood and on in to adulthood.
*Those born in Northern Ireland were not followed up in subsequent surveys.
By taking part in BCS70, you’re helping to shape society and to make life better for your generation and the next. Politicians, teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers and others use findings from the study to improve services and policies to help people like you. You can find out more about how the study has made a difference on the ‘What have we learned’ pages.
BCS70 is trying to capture the story of your life, and only you can tell it. We have been following you since you were born and we really want to continue following the rest of your lives as well.
You’re unique and irreplaceable. If you choose not to take part, we cannot replace you with anyone else. Without you, we don’t have the whole story.
It’s important that we understand what life is like for people from all different parts of the country, different family backgrounds and different ethnicities. That’s why we need as many of you as possible to keep taking part – each and every one of you brings something new to the picture and together, you represent the diversity of the BCS70 generation.
More than 17,000 people have taken part in BCS70 since it started.
As you were growing up, your parents or guardians will also have taken part in the study as well. During your time at school information was also collected from your teachers. In 2004, when you were 34, we asked your children (if you had any at this time) to complete a questionnaire and a number of assessments. You can learn more about who we’ve spoken to on the ‘Survey’ pages.
In 2012, when you were 42, we asked your partners (and you) to give us permission to add information from health records held by the NHS and economic records held by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to the information you have given us in our surveys over the years. Find out more about adding information to your survey answers.
At each survey, we’ll ask you about things that are relevant to your lives. When you were younger, we asked you about school, friends, family life and your hopes for the future. Now you are older, we’ll ask you about things like work, health, whether you get married or have children, and about your attitudes and beliefs. We’ll write to you before each survey to tell you all about what is involved.
If you move or if your contact details change, please let us know as soon as you can. This means we can make sure you get information about BCS70 and that we can contact you to invite you to take part in each survey.
We’re interested in following your life story. We want to see how your life changes over time, and what your life is like at certain ages. In the past there were some long gaps between surveys, but the funding of BCS70 is now more secure and since you were 26 we have carried out surveys every four years. The Age 50 Survey is currently underway and will conclude in 2021. After that, we plan to carry out surveys roughly every five years.
The more information that the study gathers about your life over time, the more valuable it becomes. This is why we so appreciate your unique and continued contribution.
It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part in each survey. We will send you information before each survey to let you know what it will involve. If you move home between surveys, it would be very helpful if you could contact us with your new address.
We’re interested in following your life story. We want to see how your life changes over time, and what your life is like at certain ages. We choose key points in your life to visit you, which are interesting and important for particular reasons.
BCS70 is like a photo album not only of your life, but of all the other study members too. That’s what makes it so interesting, and this is why you are so important, as you cannot be replaced.
The more information that the study gathers about your life over time, the more valuable it becomes. This is why we so value your unique and continued contribution.
We hope that the study will continue throughout your life. Other similar studies, which started in 1946 and 1958, are still continuing today. After the current survey, the Life in Your Early 50s Survey, future surveys are likely to take place every five years.
We really hope that you continue to take part. However, the study is voluntary so if you no longer want to take part in the next survey or in any future surveys, please contact us to let us know.
If you are not sure whether you’d like to continue to take part or if you have any questions about taking part, please do not hesitate to contact us. We really value the contribution you make to the study and are always happy to talk to you and answer any questions you may have.
Without you BCS70 is not possible. If you decide not to take part, we can’t replace you with anyone else. Your unique contribution is incredibly valuable.
To find out more about how your involvement helps make a difference to society visit the ‘What we’ve learned’ pages.
Yes! We’d like everyone to take part each time we visit. But it’s up to you to decide whether or not to take part each time. If you miss a survey, you can still remain in the study and do the next survey.
Even if you haven’t taken part for a while, we would love you to take part again. There’s a lot we can learn from how your lives have changed since you last took part even if we don’t have all the details of your life in between.
Each survey is important because we focus on different aspects of your lives each time we get in touch. The more information that the study gathers about your life over time, the more valuable it becomes. This is why we so value your unique and continued contribution.
If you are not sure about whether to take part or if you have any questions about taking part, please do not hesitate to contact us. We really value your contribution and are always happy to talk to you and answer any questions you have.
If you move or if your contact details change, please let us know as soon as you can. This means we can make sure you get information about the study and that we can contact you to invite you to take part in each survey.
During each survey, we will ask you for information about lots of different aspects of your life. We’ll write to you before each survey to tell you all about what is involved.
It’s fine to tell family and friends that you are part of the study. We do advise you not to make this detail public though, for example on social media, as this could risk compromising your anonymity.
We send birthday cards to study members every year and with this we will updates about BCS70 to make sure you know what is coming up, what we’ve learned, and how the study has made a difference. We will send additional information from time to time. You can download some of the materials we’ve sent you in the past from the ‘Resources’ page.
Before each survey, we’ll write to you to tell you everything you need to know about what is involved. You might want to know when the survey is taking place, or how long it will take. We’ll always try to answer any questions you have. After each survey, we’ll also write to thank you for taking part.
Between surveys, we will send you results from the study telling you what we have found out. It can take a while to put together all of the information you give us, so it is usually a few years after each survey before we can send you the results.
We also keep the study website up to date with news and findings from the study.
We will write to you regularly with news from the study, telling you what we’ve found out about your generation. It can take a while to put together all of the information you give us, so it is usually a few years after each survey before we can send you the findings.
The information from the study is being used all the time by researchers around the world, so new findings are always emerging. To find out more about the study so far, visit the ‘What have we learned?’ page.
You’re such a valuable part of the study and we really value your input. We want to make sure that we have the right contact details so that we can keep you up to date with the study and contact you to invite you to take part in each survey.
Updating your contact details is simple to do. All you have do is either call us via the Freephone telephone number (0800 0355 761), or email us at bcs70@ucl.ac.uk. Your call and/or email will be treated in the strictest confidence. You can also update your details by completing this online form. From time to time, we may also send you a change of details form or card to help you to do this.
You simply fill out the form that we sent you with any new information such as address changes, new phone and email addresses, or changes to a contact person’s details, and return it to us. If you prefer you can update us with your new details by Freephone (0800 0355 761), or by email (bcs70@ucl.ac.uk) and dispose of the form.
If you cannot find your form, please confirm your contact details by Freephone (0800 0355 761) or by email (bcs70@ucl.ac.uk). Your call and/or email will be treated in the strictest confidence.
We need to keep in touch with as many of you as possible to make sure BCS70 continues to represent the diversity of your generation. If we find out that you’ve moved, we will try to find your new address.
We first try to contact you through the direct links you have given us, such as phone numbers, email addresses and your postal address.
If that doesn’t work, then we will try to contact any family members or friends whose details you have given us. If we still haven’t found you, we will check the electoral register and the telephone book, both of which are public records and available electronically. We may also try to find you using internet searches, by looking on social media sites and by using information held by government department and agencies.
All of this tracing is usually done before the next survey starts so that we can provide interviewers with your current email address, telephone number or home address. However, if we have not been able to locate you, or if the interviewer finds out you have moved, then they will also try to find out where you’ve moved to. As well as trying to make contact by phone and in person, the interviewer may also call at your old address to speak to the new residents and call on neighbours. When we are looking for you, we won’t reveal to other people, apart from your family and friends, that you are part of BCS70.
We try to trace study members using information held by government departments and agencies.
We securely transfer the personal details (name, sex, date of birth, and last known address) of study members to NHS Digital who use these details to identify our study members using the NHS Personal Demographic Service (PDS), a database which holds details of users of health and care services in England. Once study members are identified on the PDS, NHS Digital periodically send us up-to-date addresses.
NHS Digital will also inform us if you have died or moved out of the country.
BCS70 has also tried to trace study members using records held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and we may use other government databases in the future.
This kind of personal information is not given out routinely by government departments and agencies. Special permissions are needed, and this is only done after a careful review of why this information is needed, ethical issues and data security procedures. For the information coming from the NHS, special approval under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 from the NHS Confidentiality Advisory Group and NHS Digital Data Access Advisory Group is needed.
If we are unable to find you in any other way we use the services of AFD Software, a company which specialises in contact-details validation. Read more about AFD Software on their website.
We securely transfer the personal details (name, sex, date of birth, and last known address) of study members to AFD. AFD then use these details to identify our study members in a range of other databases which are managed by other companies including Royal Mail and Experian. When study members are successfully matched to another database then AFD will supply us with updated addresses and we will use these to try and reach you.
No information other than contact details is shared with AFD. AFD do not have access to any other information which may be held in the other databases that they search. AFD are contractually obliged not to use the information we share with them for any other purpose and they destroy all data after each matching exercise is complete.
Sometimes we try to find study members using the internet and social media. This may involve carrying out internet searches, for example using Google, and searching on Facebook and other social media sites. We also know that it can be difficult to identify people accurately on the internet and social media. So, whenever we are searching in this way, we will not reveal the name of the study in case the person we contact isn’t one of our study members.
If you move abroad please let us know your new contact details, including your address, telephone number and email address so that we can keep in touch and send you letters and updates.
You can contact us with these details by Freephone (0800 0355 761), or by email (bcs70@ucl.ac.uk). Your call and/or email will be treated in the strictest confidence.
It is not usually possible for study members living abroad to take part in the surveys. However, you can re-join the study and be included in the next round of interviews if and when you return to Great Britain.
In the future, it may be possible for study members living abroad to conduct the survey remotely through web or telephone interviews.
It would be very helpful (as well as saving us time!) if you could contact us to let us know where you have moved to. This is simple to do. All you have do is either call us via the Freephone telephone number (0800 0355 761) or email us at bcs70@ucl.ac.uk. If you have recently taken part in a survey you can also return the Change of Address card which was left by your interviewer. Your call and/or email will be treated in the strictest confidence.
These have been moved to our new Privacy section.
Information from administrative records held by Government departments and agencies
Government departments and agencies hold information about people, which they use for administrative purposes. From time to time, we add information from these routine administrative records to the study data. We only do this if we have permission from you. Adding this information to the survey data helps to build up an even fuller picture of participants’ lives. This makes BCS70 even more valuable as it means researchers can use it to answer even more questions about society.
In the age 42 Survey in 2012, we asked you for your permission to add information from health records held by the NHS and economic records held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to the information you have given us in our surveys over the years. If you lived with a partner at the time we also asked them for permission to add information from their records.
As part of the Life in Your Early 50s Survey, if you had not previously given your permission to add this information, we will ask your permission again. If you live with a partner who has not previously given permission, we will also ask their permission to add information from their records.
If you have given us permission, we will securely send your personal details (such as name, sex, date of birth, address, NHS and National Insurance number – if available) to the government department or agency (or to a trusted third party employed by the government department or agency). We don’t send any other information about you, or any of your answers to the surveys. The government bodies or agencies only use these details to identify the records in their systems and then send the information from these records to us or to the data store where we deposit the study data. These departments and agencies are trusted to keep your personal details secure (and are likely to already have your personal details) and have robust systems to manage this.
When the information from the records is sent to us or to the data store, it is added to the information collected in the study, and made available to researchers under restricted access arrangements. Names, addresses, National Insurance and/or NHS numbers, are never disclosed to data stores or to researchers.
The permissions for adding other information can be changed or withdrawn at any time, without giving us any reason. This can be done by writing to us at 1970 British Cohort Study, UCL Social Research Institute, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, or by emailing the BCS70 team at bcs70@ucl.ac.uk.
Mortality information from the NHS
NHS Digital periodically informs us if study members have died. The files we receive from NHS Digital tell us when study members have died (month and year) and the cause of death. Receiving this information helps us ensure we do not try to contact people who have died. We also use it for important research. We do not ask your permission to receive this information but in order to obtain it we have to be granted special approval under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 from the NHS Confidentiality Advisory Group and the NHS Digital Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data also need to grant us permission.
During surveys we have asked you for your permission to add information from your health records to the information you have provided us during surveys. We will receive information about your death even if you do not give us permission to add information from your health records. We will also continue to receive this information if you withdraw from the study, unless you request that the data you have provided to the study is deleted.
Please note that if you opt out of having your records added to the national GP database, or of any other health database, via the NHS national data opt out then the NHS will not send us this information.
Information about where you live
We use your address (and previous addresses) to add information about where you live such as the local environment, weather, pollution and the facilities available (e.g. shops and green spaces). The information that we add may be about your local area as a whole, your street or sometimes your specific address. Where we live has a huge impact on many aspects of life, and so understanding more about your area and where you have lived previously is hugely useful for research. For example, research using NCDS, one of the other cohort studies that we run, has used area information from the Census to show that living in deprived areas is linked to poorer health.
All of the information provided to researchers is de-identified and does not allow individuals, or addresses to be identified.
We do not ask your permission to add this information because the data is not individual level information about you. Usually this information is publicly available and adding this information does not require us to share any of your personal information with any other organisations.
However, if you would prefer that we don’t add any information about your area to your study record then please let us know by writing free of charge to: 1970 British Cohort Study, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL Social Research Institute, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, or emailing the BCS70 team at bcs70@ucl.ac.uk.
Other information
We may also add other information which is not about you individually, but is for example about the school or University that you went to.
You can withdraw your permission to add information from your administrative records at any time, without giving us a reason. If we have already added some of your information, it will continue to be used for research purposes only, however, we will not add any further information from your records. To change your permissions, write to us free of charge to: 1970 British Cohort Study, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, UCL Social Research Institute, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, or email the NCDS team at bcs70@ucl.ac.uk.
We deposit your de-identified survey responses with the UK Data Service, based at the University of Essex, and the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration, based at the University of Bristol (with data securely hosted by Swansea University). Making the study data available through these central data stores makes it easier for scientists from different sectors, working in a wide variety of fields, to access and use the information in their research.
Researchers based within University College London (UCL), where the study is run from, may be given access to the data via the highly secure UCL Data Safe Haven (DSH).
The UK Data Service is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to meet the data needs of researchers, students and teachers from all sectors. The UK Data Service collection includes major UK government-sponsored surveys, cross-national surveys, longitudinal studies, UK census data, international aggregate data, business data, and qualitative data. We deposit de-identified data from all the studies that we run, including BCS70.
Across the UK, thousands of people are taking part in longitudinal studies like BCS70, which follow participants over time. At the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), we run four studies – BCS70, the National Child Development Study, Next Steps, and Child of the New Century (also known as the Millennium Cohort Study). There are many other studies in the UK, similar to these. Among others, these include, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, Generation Scotland, National Survey of Health and Development, Southall and Brent Revisited, Twins UK, UK Biobank and Understanding Society.
Each study collects vital information which allows researchers to answer key questions about the factors which affect people’s experiences and circumstances throughout their lives.
The UK LLC brings together de-identified data from many of these studies, including the four studies we run at CLS, together with linked administrative data, into a single database available to approved researchers for approved research projects. Combining the data from these studies together makes the data even more valuable, creating a resource which will significantly increase the potential for research. UK LLC was initially created as a research resource to support researchers doing priority research to help understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and develop new treatments. UK LLC has now received further funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and the Medical Research Council, to make linked study data available for any ethically approved research which is in the public benefit – not just research into COVID-19.
If you have given permission for your health records to be linked, then UK LLC has now linked your study data with NHS health data. Plans are also underway to link study data with employment, tax and benefits records for those of you who provided permission.
In order to securely link your administrative data to your survey responses, your personal details are provided to the UK LLC’s Trusted Third Parties – Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). DHCW and ONS are not provided with the answers to your surveys.
For more details see Adding information to your data and refer to the UK LLC privacy policy.
Access to your survey responses by staff at the data stores is limited to those who manage and prepare the data for access and to those who keep the system safe.
The data are de-identified at all times, and steps are taken to ensure confidentiality and data security. The data services have leading Information Security accreditation (ISO27001) and are regularly audited by IT professionals, the NHS and UK statistics agencies.
Legitimate researchers are able to apply to access the data under a strict licence agreement and required to use the data for legitimate purposes. Where your routine administrative records have been linked to your survey responses, additional measures are in place, including limiting access to researchers based in the UK and to researchers who need to demonstrate that they will be competent and safe users, that their project is in the public interest, is not run for profit making purposes, and will meet the requirements of CLS and the owners of the administrative data.
Social research is research conducted by social scientists, such as anthropologists, economists, psychologists and sociologists. It aims to understand human behaviour, mental processes, and how people interact in society. In quantitative social research, researchers apply different statistical methods to data in order to do this. The objective of their research is to understand how and why people fare differently in life, and therefore how policies can be designed to help improve the lives of some.
Survey research involves collecting information from a sample of individuals through their answers to questions. Surveys are used in lots of parts of our society, for example by retail companies to understand shoppers’ preferences, in polls to reveal people’s voting intentions, and in studies such as BCS70. Surveys are carried out in different ways – including face-to-face or over the telephone with an interviewer, or on the internet by self-completion.
A birth cohort study follows a group of people that were born at a similar date or period of time – be it a day, month, year or decade, for instance. It follows these people throughout their lives, and collects information from them at particular ages. By following the same people over time, these studies are able to tell us how and why people change as they get older. BCS70 is a cohort study following people born in one week in 1970.
Our society is changing fast. Findings from birth cohort studies are used to chart and understand how society has changed over the years, and how life experiences are different for each generation. They help understand the impact of societal trends such as our ageing population and the growth in lone-parent and step-families, and changes such as growing employment insecurity.
Cohort studies help understand that change. Evidence from cohort studies have contributed to many policy decisions in diverse areas – such as increasing the duration of maternity leave, raising the school leaving age, updating breast feeding advice given to parents.
