Centre for Longitudinal Studies -Next Steps Study - Mortality

The Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at University College London (UCL) requires access to NHS England data to support the following research programme:

Centre for Longitudinal Studies - Next Steps Study

The Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at University College London (UCL) is an academic resource centre responsible for producing and disseminating data resources for the scientific community. CLS manages four world-renowned cohort studies; the National Child Development Study 1958 (NCDS), the 1970 British Cohort study (BCS70) the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) 2000 and now have the Next Steps cohort in their portfolio. Three of these studies (NCDS, BCS70 and MCS) are 'birth' studies, following the groups of participants from cradle to grave. As such, this group of studies is unique and has, and still is, providing a wealth of information used in the policy decisions affecting society's health and well-being. CLS is an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre, based at the Department of Quantitative Social Science, UCL Institute of Education. This Data Sharing Agreement covers data access granted to UCL for the purpose of the Next Steps study.

Next Steps previously known as the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) is an established longitudinal study which has followed the lives of - originally - people born in 1989/90, since year 9 of secondary school. Study members were interviewed annually between 2004 and 2010. The study was previously managed by the Department of Education (DfE). In 2013 the Economic and Social Research Council took over the funding and the study management legally transferred to the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education. The study includes rounds of data collection at different age intervals to assess the progression of participants in different aspects of life. The most recent round of data collection - Next Steps Age 32 survey - took place between April 2022 and September 2023. Information was collected from cohort members on many aspects of cohort members’ lives such as family and relationships, and housing, employment and finances, education, health and wellbeing, and working memory capacity: including topics such as physical health, mental health, health behaviours (exercise, diet, smoking, drinking, drugs), short-term memory and concentration. Identity and attitudes, and personality, childhood circumstances and other live events and partner information: including education, employment and income.

Identifiable Civil Registration Mortality and Demographics are requested in support of the following aims:

• Update participant's details on the CLS database with a view to 1) preventing seeking contact with those who have died and potentially causing distress to friends and relatives, and 2) preventing study resources from being wasted trying to contact individuals who have since emigrated outside of the UK.

• Understand the Mortality outcomes of the Next Steps cohort and investigate how individual behaviours and social or economic determinations of health behaviours such as drug and alcohol use, sexual health, diet and exercise may have influenced outcomes.

• Support further research within the CLS

• Support further research outside the CLS via sub licencing arrangements

The CLS has previously received data for the purposes of updating the study’s database to prevent contact with those who have died or emigrated only. The CLS now requests to use this data for research purposes, and to sublicence this data via the UKDS.

The requested data will be minimised as follows:

• Data is limited to the 15,770 individuals included in the Next Steps cohort.

Where data is being shared within the CLS, or is being shared outside the CLS to support further research the data will be minimised on a project by project basis, this minimisation will be evaluated by the CLS Data Access Committee (DAC). The date of death will be de-identified as month and year, cause of death (ICD-10 codes) will may be de-identified by truncation where needed..

UCL is the data controller as the organisation responsible for ensuring that the data will only be processed for the purpose described above.

The lawful basis for processing personal data under the UK GDPR is Article 6(1)(e) - processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;

The lawful basis for processing special category data under UK GDPR is Article 9(2)(j) processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes. CLS sought permission from the Confidentiality Advisory Group and obtained S251 approval to trace participants and to use their mortality data for research.

The funding is provided by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The University of Essex is a processor acting under the instructions of UCL. The University of Essex hosts the UKDS, their role is limited to storing the linked pseudonymised data and facilitating access to third-party researchers who have the necessary approvals and contractual measures in place required to access the data.

Only substantive employees whose role supports the provision of the UKDS as a service are permitted to process the data. Should any researchers from the University of Essex wish to use the data deposited within the UKDS for research purposes they will be required to apply for access as per the process described in the ‘Sublicensing’ section below.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a processor acting under the instructions of UCL. AWS’ role is limited to secure backup of data stored in UCL’s Data Safe Haven.

UCL uses offsite data centre services provided by VIRTUS data centre. VIRTUS does not have access to the data.

****Sharing Data Within the CLS****

CLS researchers may request access to the pseudonymised mortality dataset disseminated under this Agreement for research purposes.

CLS researchers requesting access to the data must submit a CLS Data Access Application Form. The form requires that they provide general information about the project including its title, aims and data required. Applicants are required to demonstrate how the project provides a measurable benefit in the provision of health and social care in England.

Should the request be approved the following restrictions apply:

Access will be restricted to CLS researchers who meet the following requirements:

i. The researcher must be substantively employed in the CLS by UCL;

ii. The researcher must be registered with the UKDS;

iii. The researcher must have completed NHS England’s Data Security Awareness course;

iv. The researcher must have submitted a project proposal for review by the CLS Data Access Committee (DAC) and the CLS DAC must have approved the access request;

v. Once, approved, the researcher will sign a licence agreement with CLS and will then be granted access to the relevant subset of data via the UCL Data Safe Haven (DSH

Current proposed projects intend to:

- Document and monitor socio-economic, demographic and other inequalities in cause-specific mortality over time

- Understand the joint progress of morbidity and mortality and to what extend healthy life expectancy keeps pace.

- Investigate the links between mental health and cause specific mortality

- Investigate the links between early life circumstances, childhood characteristics and cause specific mortality.

****Sharing Data via the UKDS – Sublicensing ****

Non-CLS researchers may request access to a pseudonymised subset of the mortality data disseminated under this Agreement for research purposes. All access is via the UK Data Service (UKDS).

The process of accessing data, and the licence type under which data is accessed varies depending on the disclosivity of the data, the sensitivity of the data and the potential consequences of the misuse of data. Research data have been classified into ‘Tiers’ depending on how disclosive, sensitive and risky individual data items are. Full details of how the CLS classify data can be found in the ‘CLS Data Classification Policy’

https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CLS_Data_Classification_Policy-1.pdf

** UKDS Special safeguarded data (Tier 1b)**

Special safeguarded data (Tier 1b) have a medium level of potential disclosure risk and/or sensitivity. Examples of mortality fields that fall within tier 1b include the fact of death and the month and year of death (mm/yyyy).

Tier 1b data is accessed via a UKDS Special Licence. A UKDS Special Licence may be granted to successful applicants based within the UK.

The process for access to Tier 1b data is as follows:

1. The researcher registers with the UKDS and signs the UKDS End User Licence Agreement.

2. Applicant submits and signs the UKDS Special Licence application form.

3. By signing the Special Licence application form the researcher agrees with the terms in the UKDS Research Data Handling and Security Guide for Users (https://ukdataservice.ac.uk/app/uploads/cd171-researchdatahandling.pdf)

4. The UKDS Data Access team screens the application to ensure it is properly completed.

5. The UKDS Data Access team sends the application form to CLS for approval by the Data Access Committee (CLS DAC). The CLS DAC have delegated to the CLS Research Data Management (RDM)* team the capability to evaluate and approve Special Licence data access requests. However, the RDM will seek advice and guidance from the Committee where novel issues arise.

6. A member of the CLS RDM team will assess the application on behalf of the CLS DAC and decide to approve it or request further information. The assessment is done against the CLS DAC assessment criteria set out in the CLS DAC Terms of Reference (https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CLS_DAC_Terms_of_Reference.pdf). Should an application be rejected, a researcher can apply again with a revised application.

7. The CLS RDM team will inform UKDS that the project has been approved.

8. Special Licence-approved applications are reported at the next CLS DAC.

9. UKDS will inform the researcher that their project was approved and make the data available to them.

10. The researcher downloads the Special Licence data into their institutional server. Researchers must abide by the conditions laid out in the UKDS ‘Research Data Handling and Security Guide for Users’, which includes details of the individual and institutional penalties that are enforceable in the event of a breach of the conditions. They can only merge these data with CLS highly de-identified non-disclosive research data, which are also subject to UKDS Data Sharing Agreement terms and conditions.

*RDM follow the DAC Terms of Reference i.e. they are reviewing against the same criteria

**UKDS Controlled data (Tier 2)**

Controlled data (Tier 2) have a high level of potential disclosure risk (for example exact dates, detailed geographical indicators) and/or high sensitivity. Examples of mortality fields that fall within tier 2 include date of death (dd/mm/yyyy) and cause of death including clinical codes for the cause of death.

Tier 2 data is accessed via the UKDS SecureLab, which is the UKDS’ Trusted Research Environment (TRE). The UKDS SecureLab supports UK-based research projects only.

The process for access to Tier 2 data is as follows:

i. The researcher submits an application, including the UKDS 'Accredited Researcher application form', the 'Research proposal' and the “UCL Licence Agreement” to the UKDS.

ii. The UKDS Data Access team screens the application to ensure it is properly completed. Once it is, they forward the application to the CLS.

iii. The CLS Research Data Management (RDM) managers check the Organisational Information Governance and security assurance evidence provided in the “UCL Licence Agreement” and either requests further evidence to support the request or submits the application for CLS DAC approval.

iv. The CLS DAC assesses both project documents (UKDS project proposal and the “UCL Licence Agreement”) and decides whether to approve it, not approve it, or they require further information. CLS DAC considerations include an assessment of the expected benefits to health care, adult social care or the promotion of health. Should an application be rejected, a researcher can apply again with a revised application.

v. If the CLS DAC approves the project:

a. CLS RDM team informs UKDS that the project has been approved.

b. The CLS authorised representative signs the “UCL License agreement” and sends it back to the UKDS to be forwarded to the researcher.

vi. UKDS informs the researcher that their project was approved; sends them a countersigned copy of the “UCL Licence Agreement”

vii. UKDS makes the data available to the researcher via theUKDS SecureLab account via Multi Factor Authentication. ,

viii. The data will be provided to the researcher via their own UKDS SecureLab project folder, which will contain only the data that the researcher needs to see for their project. The research-linked data provided to researchers are pseudonymised and de-identified, and will never contain identifiable information such as name, address, date of birth, NHS or NI number.

ix. The researcher accessing the data via the UKDS SecureLab will not be able to download any data into their own institutional server. Once the researcher has finished their research, the UKDS will delete the data folder with the tailored dataset for the specific project.

x. Strict disclosure control checks are carried out by the UKDS before any research outputs, e.g. publication, can be extracted from the UKDS SecureLab account.

xi. CLS DAC will publish the information about any data dissemination on the CLS website, including the name of the organisation to which data was provided, purpose (summary of the project) and what data was released. (NB: If CLS DAC does not approve the project, no data will be disseminated). https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/data-access-training/data-access/

** Data linkage **

The CLS will supply NHS England with a file of 15770 study members to match to NHS data.

The file supplied will contain all cohort members who have ever participated in the study (excluding those who have requested the study to stop using their data).

Participants can;

a) withdraw from a specific data collection sweep of the study (in which case they would still be invited to take part in future sweeps of the study)

b) permanently withdraw from the study (in which case they will not be invited to take part in any future sweeps of the study) or

c) permanently withdraw from the study AND request that the data can no longer be used.

The file will contain the following items:

-CLS ID

-First name

-Last name

-Middle name (where available)

-Sex

-Date of birth

-Postcode

-NHS number (where available)

Following data linkage, NHS England will supply the following details to CLS:

- CLS identifier

- NHS Number

- Forename of the deceased

- Latest middle name (where available),

-Surname of the deceased

- Date of birth

-Date of death

-Fact of death

-Cause of death

- Gender

- Town of birth

-Address

- Date of address registration or update

-Other variables as chosen in the Civil Registration and Demographic dataset.

UCL may transfer copies of variables received from NHS England to Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) to process on behalf of University of Bristol for the purposes of obtaining linked data from NHS England which will be available to University of Swansea and other authorised parties through the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UKLLC). The specific variables which UCL may share with DHCW are:

- NHS Number

- Date Of Birth

- Gender

- Postcode

As controller, UCL must ensure there are documented instructions setting out the specific details of the processing that DHCW will undertake its behalf. This must include arrangements for permanent deletion of the data and confirmation of such at the appropriate times.

At CLS, the identifiable data received under this agreement will be used to validate the information of the cohort on CLS's cohort maintenance database (meaning names and addresses are used to ensure the correct cohort member has passed away or emigrated). These identifiable data will not be made available to researchers.

The pseudonymised mortality data will be linked to the pseudonymised survey data and therefore will be linked to the survey data for research by the CLS Research Data Management team.

Researchers applying to use the survey linked to mortality data may also apply to use the linked data in combination with other datasets including Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) held by the study DARS-NIC-51342-V1M5W.

***Access by the study operational teams and the wider CLS***

All data being accessed by the study team and the wider CLS is stored on the UCL Data Safe Haven (DSH).

Amazon Web Services provides cloud hosting services to UCL and will store the data as contracted by UCL.

UCL uses offsite data centre services provided by VIRTUS data centre. VIRTUS does not have access to the data.

Access to the UCL DHS is via remote access. For remote access:

- Remote access will only be from secure locations situated within the territory of use (as further restricted elsewhere within the DSA if so done) stated within this DSA;

- Access controls granting users the minimum level of access required are in place;

- Remote access is only via secure connections (e.g., VPNs or secure protocols) to protect data;

- Multifactor authentication (MFA) is required for remote access;

- Device security, including up-to-date software and operating systems, antivirus software, and enabled firewalls are utilised for the remote access;

- All remote access is undertaken within the scope of the organisation’s DSPT (or other security arrangements as per this DSA) and complies with the organisation’s remote access policy.

Remote processing will be from secure locations within the UK. The data will not leave the UK at any time.

Access to data held on the UCL DSH is restricted to the direct study team, and other individuals employed by UCL in the CLS who have received approval from the CLS DAC to access the data.

***Access by Sublicensees***

Access to data via sublicence depends on the tier the data falls under.

** UKDS Special safeguarded data (Tier 1b)**

The data will be stored on servers at the UK Data Archive based at the University of Essex. The UK Data Archive will store the pseudonymised analysis file only.

Subject to approval by the CLS DAC and obtaining a UKDS Special Licence, researchers receive data and work on their institutional servers.

Access is restricted to researchers who have received authorisation from CLS DAC and have obtained a UKDS Special Licence for their specific project.

This data dissemination includes the following safeguards:

i. Data transfers are made securely e.g. encrypted.

ii. The data will be used for database update and statistical research purposes and will not involve any direct decision-making about the health or treatment of a participant

iii. Data are stored in secure environments certified to ISO 27001 and/or a ‘Standards Met’ DSP Toolkit. (this is true about the data we receive from you).

iv. Data are only accessed in pseudonymised form and treated for disclosure if necessary.

v. Data will not be shared outside of the UK at any time.

** UKDS Controlled data (Tier 2)** **

The data will be stored on servers at the UK Data Archive based at the University of Essex. The UK Data Archive will store the pseudonymised analysis file only.

Subject to approval by the CLS, the UKDS will make data available to researchers via the UKDS Secure Lab.

The Data will be accessed via remote access. For remote access:

- Remote access will only be from secure locations situated within the territory of use (as further restricted elsewhere within the DSA if so done) stated within this DSA;

- Access controls granting users the minimum level of access required are in place;

- Remote access is only via secure connections (e.g., VPNs or secure protocols) to protect data;

- Multifactor authentication (MFA) is required for remote access;

- Device security, including up-to-date software and operating systems, antivirus software, and enabled firewalls are utilised for the remote access;

- All remote access is undertaken within the scope of the organisation’s DSPT (or other security arrangements as per this DSA) and complies with the organisation’s remote access policy.

Remote processing will be from secure locations within the UK. The data will not leave the UK at any time.

Access is restricted to researchers who have received authorisation from CLS DAC for their specific project.

All personnel accessing the data have been appropriately trained in data protection and confidentiality.

This data dissemination includes the following safeguards:

i. Linkages are covered by the Section 251 support (use of mortality data for research projects)

ii. Identifying variables are held separately from the survey responses, including during the matching process.

iii. Data transfers are made securely e.g. encrypted.

iv. The data will only be used for database update and statistical research purposes and will not involve any direct decision-making about the health or treatment of a participant

v. Data are stored in secure environments certified to ISO 27001 and/or a ‘Standards Met’ DSP Toolkit.

vi. Data are only accessed in pseudonymised form and treated for disclosure if necessary.

vii. Data are accessed via the receiving organisation's secure environment.

viii. Disclosure control checks are carried out before any research publication.

Data will not be shared outside of the UK at any time.

The main outcome for the study is the next sweep, Next steps age 32, which will be a fully documented, anonymised research dataset and this will be archived with the UK Data Service to provide a strategically important resource for UK Social Science, including researchers in health and social care.

CLS will continue to produce outputs from the study via the UK Data Service in the form of aggregated report for the benefit of the wider research community as previous interest in Next steps data has proven to be sought in a large scope of research areas. CLS will also publish papers in a range of journals; however, it is not possible to provide detail at this point as to precisely which journals and dates, but the intention is to produce outputs along the same lines as those produced after previous sweep. All scientific papers using the Next Steps data are published on the CLS Bibliography page online. https://www.bibliography.cls.ucl.ac.uk/Bibliography.aspx?sitesectionid=647&sitesectiontitle=Bibliography

On average, over a hundred research papers are written every year using the Next Steps dataset, many of these papers are in the area of health or social care and contribute to advance further knowledge in health.

Outputs for the mortality data:

database update-The notifications of deaths and embarkations will ensure CLS doesn't waste resources sending invitations to those who have moved away. It will also prevent CLS from contacting those who have died.

Research- The pseudonymised data which will be used for research.

Below is a list with some of the research that CLS intends to do using mortality data for research.

1. Document and monitor socio-economic, demographic and other inequalities in cause-specific mortality over time/across generations.

2. Understand the joint progress of morbidity and mortality and to what extent healthy life expectancy keeps pace with total life expectancy.

3. Investigate the links between mental health and cause specific mortality.

4. Investigate the links between early life circumstances, childhood characteristics/behaviour and cause-specific mortality.

It is not possible at this stage to anticipate what projects will use this data via the UKDS.

The research papers below have been written using data from the CLS cohorts and COVID19 surveys and are used as examples:

David Bann, Aase Villadsen, Jane Maddock, View ORCID Profile Alun Hughes, George B. Ploubidis, Richard J. Silverwood, Praveetha Patalay (2020Ϳ͕͚Changes in the behavioural determinants of health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic:gender, socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in 5 British cohort studies͛͘

Using data from five nationally representative British cohort studies (born 2000-2, 1989-90, 1970, 1958, and 1946),

researchers investigated sleep, physical activity (exercise), diet, and alcohol intake (N=14,297). Using measures of each behaviour reported before and during lockdown, researchers investigated change in each behaviour, and whether such changes differed by age/cohort, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position (SEP; childhood social class, education attainment, and adult reporting of financial difficulties). The results showed changes in these outcomes occurred in both directions, i.e. shifts from the middle part of the distribution to both declines and increases in sleep, exercise, and alcohol use. For all outcomes, older cohorts were less likely to report changes in behaviours compared with younger cohorts. In the youngest cohort (born 2001), the following shifts were more evident: increases in exercise, fruit and vegetable intake, sleep duration, and less frequent alcohol consumption. Widening inequalities in sleep during lockdown were more frequent amongst females, socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, and ethnic minorities. For other outcomes, inequalities were largely similar before and during lockdown, yet ethnic minorities were increasingly likely during lockdown to undertake less

exercise and consume lower amounts of fruit and vegetables

doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.29.20164244

Constantin-Cristian Topriceanu, Andrew Wong, James C Moon, View ORCID Profile Alun D Hughes, David Bann, Nish Chaturvedi, Praveetha Patalay, Gabriella Conti, Gabriella Captur (2020Ϳ͕͚Inequality in access to health and care services during lockdown͛ʹFindings from the COVID-19 survey in five UK national longitudinal studies Researchers studied whether COVID19 further deepened existing health inequalities. Access to health services and adequate care is influenced by sex,ethnicity, socio-economic position (SEP) and burden of co-morbidities. However, it is unknown whether the COVID-19 pandemic further deepened these already existing health inequalities. Participants were from five longitudinal age homogenous British cohorts (born in 2001, 1990, 1970, 1958 and 1946). A web and telephone-based survey provided data on cancelled surgical or medical appointments, and the number of care hours received during the UK COVID-19 national lockdown. Using binary or ordered logistic regression, researchers evaluated whether these outcomes differed by sex, ethnicity, SEP and having a chronic illness. The findings showed that Females and those with a chronic illness experienced significantly more cancellations during lockdown. Ethnic minorities and those with a chronic illness required a higher number of care hours during the lockdown . Age was not independently associated with either outcome in meta-regression. SEP was not associated with cancellation or care hours.

https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.12.20191973

The study produces rich, longitudinal, policy-relevant data, currently unavailable elsewhere, for a large representative sample of young adults. Next steps data is widely used by policy makers to evaluate and develop policy and improve services for young people and also by academic researchers to chart and understand social change. The information provided by cohort members provides valuable evidence for the research and policy community about the cohort's transitions out of education and into early adult life. To enhance the research resource for secondary users, a fully documented, pseudonymised dataset has been archived with the UK Data Service in May 2017.

Next Steps Age 32 and previous age 25 survey data will enrich the already deposited data for the cohort (waves 1 to 7) and is expected to be particularly valuable for the research community, including researchers in health and social care, providing rich survey data on a range of different domains of young people's lives. Particularly beneficial is the opportunity for a life course approach and to follow young people's experiences over time to analyse later life outcomes. Next Steps data is a resource with great potential for the research and policy community, and the information collected on health and its social determinants widens its potential value for health research and policy interventions. Cohort members were asked a range of questions about their physical and emotional health and wellbeing. There is, however, a great deal more information about potential underlying determinants, in this and the earlier sweeps of Next Steps, available for researchers via the UKDS.

The age 25 survey data is already providing important research evidence on transitions out of education and into early adult life, informing a range of key interlinked policy questions relating to higher education, employment, housing and family formation, and health. Data from the age 25 survey was deposited at the UK Data Service in June 2017 and have already been downloaded for over 100 research projects in many disciplines including economics, education and sociology; examples of outputs from those projects can be found at the Next Steps home page (https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/next-steps/), as well as publications in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, the Journal of Adolescence and the European Journal of Public Health, and others. Its influence and impact will grow over the next few years, as it is used for research and policy on a wide range of different issues, and as the existing data is enhanced and augmented, particularly with linked to mortality data.

The use of the survey combined with mortality data will result in papers that will be published, presented at conferences and sometimes reach media coverage.

Most papers will contribute to a body of evidence which will result in improvements to health care users experience or health care delivery. It is expected that occasionally, these may have a higher impact such as the impact examples highlighted below:

Evidence from Next Steps used to reform vocational education for young people.

In 2011 the Department for Education has commissioned an investigative work to find out the effectiveness of ‘vocational’ education system in the UK in helping young adults securing jobs. The study was conducted using data from Next Steps study showed that young adults aged 16-19 were actively seeking work, but that around a third to a half of them struggled to find appropriate courses and jobs, and as a result changed occupations frequently and spent periods of time not in work, education or training.

Based on these findings, 27 specific recommendations were made on how to improve practical education and training opportunities for young people that will help them to get jobs with good opportunities for progression.

In March 2014 the Department for Business Innovation and Skills announced their government’s reform plan for vocational qualifications report , which included a series of reforms to the vocational qualifications , such as the apprenticeship reform where by existing apprenticeship frameworks were replaced by new employer-designed apprenticeship standards. More information on this can be found here. These reforms came in response to recommendations of the influential Wolf Report, which also drew on evidence from Next Steps.

https://nextstepsstudy.org.uk/evidence-from-next-steps-used-in-government-policy-on-youth-unemployment/

Evidence from Next Steps used in Government Policy on Youth Unemployment:

Findings from Next Steps have been used to inform the Government’s strategy on getting young people into education, employment or training. The struggling economic has often been cited as the reason for the large number of young adults not in education, employment or training (NEET). However, new research using data from Next Steps have shown that there are other factors that influence whether or not a person spends NEET. The findings showed that education attainment at age 16 is one of the most determining factors in determining a person’s future path. Forty-five per cent of those with no GCSEs had spent more than a year NEET by the time they turned 18, compared to just 4 per cent of those with five or more GCSEs at A*-C.

Building Engagement, Building Futures lays out the Government’s plans to tackle the causes of youth unemployment. This strategy proposes to maximise the participation of 16-24 years old in education, training, and work. More info can be found here. The strategy was developed by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It comes in response to recommendations of the influential Wolf Report, which also draws on evidence from Next Steps.

(https://nextstepsstudy.org.uk/home/what-have-we-learned/bullying/)

Helping the Next generation:

Findings from Next Steps have been used in several anti-bullying campaigns and initiatives, as well as guidance for teachers and schools about how to stops bullying. And the efforts have paid off. A recent study has shown that secondary school pupils today are less likely to be bullied.

Ten thousand fewer pupils are being bullied every day than 10 years ago, a major new study of secondary school pupils has revealed.

The Department of Education report compares the experiences of Next Steps study members to members of Our Future, a new study which started following Year 9 pupils in 2013. This landmark research, which involved tens of thousands of young people from 2004 and 2013, is one of the largest of its kind ever undertaken.

It shows bullying among Year 9 pupils has fallen dramatically since you were in school. The findings show that:

• 30,000 fewer pupils said they had been bullied in the last 12 months

• 30,000 fewer pupils said they had been victims of violent bullying

• 10,000 fewer pupils reported being bullied every day

Speaking before the start of Anti-Bullying Week 2014, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan praised teachers, charities and parents for their efforts. She also urged them to continue their “moral mission” to further reduce bullying, recognising that many parents consider it their number one concern about what happens at school.

Benefits of the mortality data received:

Use of the notification of deaths and embarkations have helped to minimise the risk of invitations going to the incorrect address, and contact being made with participants who have died. CLS wishes to maintain a strong relationship with its study participants and to avoid any instances of contacting participants that have passed away which can potentially causes distress to friends and family members. Notification of participants who have left the UK have allowed better management of resources devoted to contacting participant, reducing instances where attempts are made to contact individuals who are no longer in the country.

In addition to the above CLS was notified of the death of 21 cohort members under the previous version of this agreement, this prevented CLS from contacting and potentially causing upset to family members but also saved resources by preventing CLS from trying to contact those who have passed away.

Information about the latest sweep age 32 is now available via the CLS website: https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/next-steps/next-steps-age-32-sweep/

and dataset deposited at the UKDS

https://datacatalogue.ukdataservice.ac.uk/studies/study/5545#details