The cohort will link the following datasets in two stages (see below).

For Stage 1, the following data will be linked:

• Office for National Statistics (ONS) birth and death registration data
• Census 2011 and 2021 data for mothers for children born within two years of each Census
• Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs modelled Annual Air Pollution data
• Met Office data on air temperature
• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Energy Performance Certificate data
• Valuation Office Agency data on property type and valuation
• Access to private gardens and public greenspaces

The environmental data will be linked to the birth records via the address on the birth registration dataset.

For stage 2 of KEHC, the aspiration is to link the cohort to health and education data. This is subject to approvals from NHS England and the Department for Education.

Research potential of the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort

The Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort will enable research on how changing local environments impact children’s health and education, which can be used to inform government departments, local councils, and the public. It will also enable new insights into how well housing, environmental, and planning policies are working to improve children’s lives.

Phase 1 will be particularly suited to addressing research objectives related to the impact of housing quality, temperature, greenspace access and air pollution, on birth outcomes, and perinatal, infant and child mortality.

Linkage to health data

For the time being, NHS data will only be analysed by ONS and UK Statistics Authority (National Statistician’s Office) as part of its official statistical work on overcrowding and infant health. This is pending discussions with NHS England for data to be made available on SRS in the future.

Linkage to further environmental datasets

Researchers will not have access to data on the geographical location of children’s homes and schools. Datasets will be safely linked by ONS, and the linked, de-identified research data will then be made available to researchers. ONS will use the identifiers to establish address histories and use these address histories to link to other environmental data, then make only de-identified data available to researchers (they will see statistical units, rather than identifiable people or addresses). This will be part of stage 2 of Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort. 

Data access

The Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort Phase 1 data will be stored in the ONS Secure Research Service (SRS), a national (UK Statistics Authority accredited) Trusted Research Environment. 

Before gaining access to the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort data, researchers will need to become Accredited Researchers, and the research project for which they want to use the data will need to be accredited by the ONS. You can read about the process for applying for accreditation for research here.