Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (formerly known as the ONS Opinions Survey or Omnibus) is an omnibus survey that began in 1990, collecting data on a range of subjects commissioned by both the ONS internally and external clients (limited to other government departments, charities, non-profit organisations and academia).Data are collected from one individual aged 16 or over, selected from each sampled private household. Personal data include data on the individual, their family, address, household, income and education, plus responses and opinions on a variety of subjects within commissioned modules. The questionnaire collects timely data for research and policy analysis evaluation on the social impacts of recent topics of national importance, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the cost of living, on individuals and households in Great Britain. From April 2018 to November 2019, the design of the OPN changed from face-to-face to a mixed-mode design (online first with telephone interviewing where necessary). Mixed-mode collection allows respondents to complete the survey more flexibly and provides a more cost-effective service for customers. In March 2020, the OPN was adapted to become a weekly survey used to collect data on the social impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the lives of people of Great Britain. These data are held in the Secure Access study, SN 8635, ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Covid-19 Module, 2020-2022: Secure Access. From August 2021, as coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions were lifting across Great Britain, the OPN moved to fortnightly data collection, sampling around 5,000 households in each survey wave to ensure the survey remains sustainable. The OPN has since expanded to include questions on other topics of national importance, such as health and the cost of living. For more information about the survey and its methodology, see the ONS OPN Quality and Methodology Information webpage.Secure Access Opinions and Lifestyle Survey dataOther Secure Access OPN data cover modules run at various points from 1997-2019, on Census religion (SN 8078), cervical cancer screening (SN 8080), contact after separation (SN 8089), contraception (SN 8095), disability (SNs 8680 and 8096), general lifestyle (SN 8092), illness and activity (SN 8094), and non-resident parental contact (SN 8093). See Opinions and Lifestyle Survey: Secure Access for details.
Main Topics:Each month's questionnaire consists of two elements: core questions, covering demographic information, are asked each month together with non-core questions that vary from month to month.
The non-core questions for this month were: Local Authority Tenants (Module 186): this module was asked on behalf of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), and only applied to those respondents renting from local authorities in England and Wales. It combined a repeat of the 'Tenant's Charter' module run in 1991/2 and 1992/3 with questions based on ones from the 1994 module 'Information for LA Tenants' and the Survey of English Housing. Withheld Deposits (Module 193): this module was asked on behalf of the DETR and would have been included in the Survey of English Housing, but no space was available. It was asked in England only, to help the DETR compile a sample of respondents who had at some time in the past three years had a deposit that they had paid prior to moving into privately rented accommodation withheld when they left. Second Homes (Module 4): this module was asked on behalf of the DETR. It has appeared in previous Omnibus surveys in a slightly different form. The module queried respondents on ownership of a second home by any member of the household and reasons for having the second home. Attitudes to Disability Benefits (Module 191): this module was asked on behalf of the Department of Social Security. The questions focus on three different sorts of benefit claimants, the disabled, who can claim Income Replacement Benefit, people injured at work and carers. Alcohol brought into the United Kingdom (UK) from European Union (EU) countries (Module 164): this module was asked on behalf of Customs and Excise, and aimed to assess the extent of cross-border shopping since the Single European Market was introduced. It is only concerned with alcohol bought in other EU countries in outlets other than duty-free shops. Attitudes to in-work subsidies and unemployment benefit (Module 194): this module was asked on behalf of the DSS and focuses on attitudes to top-up benefits for low-paid workers with jobs, attitudes to unemployment benefit, and attitudes to unemployed couples with and without children. Lone Mothers (Module 184): this module was asked on behalf of the DSS. The questions were taken from a British attitudes survey and compare attitudes towards mothers living in couples with children of varying ages with attitudes towards lone mothers. Contraception (Module 170): the Special Licence version of this module is held under SN 6476. PEPs and TESSAs (Module 185): this module was asked on behalf of the Inland Revenue, to gain more information about the distribution of PEPs and TESSAs and in particular the extent to which the two groups overlap. Vulnerable consumers of financial products (Module 195): this module was asked on behalf of the Office for Fair Trading, who were conducting an enquiry into vulnerable consumers of financial services such as banking, savings and investments, credit and insurance.
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Face-to-face interview
