Health and Lifestyle Survey (HLS)

The Health and Lifestyle Survey is a national survey that can provide reliable information about the health and well-being of the population, as well as other topics of interest such as the use of childcare services.

What you tell us in this study will be used to build a picture of our society. The results will help with planning of policies and services, ensuring that government departments, public bodies and charitable organisations base their decisions on the most up-to-date and relevant information.

Whatever your circumstances, they are relevant to this study.

Obtaining information from as many selected households as possible is the only way we can get a complete and accurate picture of people’s health and their views on a range of issues.

By taking part in the study, you will ensure that your experiences and circumstances become an important part of the bigger picture of life in the UK today and will be helping to influence matters that affect us all.

During the interview, the interviewer will ask questions about the general health of adults in your household. A member of your household may also be asked some additional questions on topics such as whether you have access to a car, whether you use childcare and your views on subjects such as e-cigarettes.

Government departments use the results of the study to identify how and where they should be using public resources.

They use the information to check how different groups in the community are affected by existing policies and to inform future policy changes.

The Health and Lifestyle Survey is being conducted by the Office for National Statistics, the government's largest producer of statistics.

We compile independent information about the UK's society and economy, which provides evidence for policy- and decision-making, and for directing resources to where they are needed most.

The 10-yearly census for England and Wales, measures of inflation, the national accounts, and population and migration statistics are some of our highest-profile outputs.

Our work is very important and we need your help to make our studies successful. Every year about 500,000 people help us by taking part in our studies. No-one has to take part if they do not want to, but for us to paint an accurate picture of our society, it is vital that we interview as many people as possible, from all walks of life.

Yes, your information will be treated as confidential as directed by the Code of Practice for Statistics. It will only be held for as long as it is being used for producing statistics. The statistics produced will not identify you or anyone in your household.

UK legislation allows us to collect and process your data to produce statistics for the public good. Survey information is also provided to other government departments, approved organisations and approved researchers for statistical purposes only. Details on who can access this information can be found on the approved organisations and government departments page and the approved researchers page. All statistics produced will be subject to the Code and the same standards of protection will be applied to your data at all times.

Your household recently took part in the Labour Force Survey and agreed to be contacted for future research. Once selected, your household cannot be replaced by another as this would affect the representativeness of the sample. This means your participation is very important to the success of this study by ensuring all groups are properly represented.

You can read about the commitments that the ONS makes to those taking part in our studies in our ONS Respondent charter for surveys of households and individuals.

If you have a question about how we process your personal data or want to find out more about your rights under data protection legislation, please see our data protection page for more information and the contact details you will need.

If you have any queries about taking part in the study, please contact us by telephone on +44 (0)800 298 5313. The opening times for the phone line are:

Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm
Saturday 8am to 1pm

We would appreciate your suggestions on how we can improve this or any of our studies. It would also be great to hear from you if you are happy with the service that you have received.

You can email us at surveyfeedback@ons.gov.uk.