Extension for the Longitudinal Studies Centre Scotland (LSCS) from 2025 to 2030, part of UKCenLS call

The Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) is a largescale research ready record-linkage study of 5% of the Scottish population created and supported by the Longitudinal Study Centre Scotland (LSCS). It links the Scottish Census from 1991 through time to administrative data on major life events (Vital Events – birth, deaths and marriages and hospital and primary care treatment), other censuses, maps changing residential location (through the NHS Central Register (NHSCR) data) and for children, their progress through the educational system. The SLS is therefore a very rich source of health and socio-economic data that allows the longitudinal analysis of complex demographic and epidemiological questions – and crucially analysis that would not be possible in smaller (or cross-sectional data) studies.
Since its creation, the SLS has been used to examine a wide range of research questions feeding into government social, health and housing policy. Importantly many of the users of the SLS are postgraduate students. Through our very close support and training of these students, we have been establishing a new cohort of longitudinal administrative data users who will be the future users of the major new investments such as ADR UK.
The LSCS at the University of Edinburgh (UoE), in partnership with National Records of Scotland (NRS), constructs and maintains the SLS. It carries out data linkage and curation (making it research ready), manages the secure and private access to the data, along with training and supporting researchers in the use of this complex data source.
We seek funding to support the core service of the LSCS for the next 5 years but also to enhance the study through:

New data acquisition, extending the studies potential to answer new and different questions and
Growing its research user base by making the data readily accessible through the SafePod Network across the UK
Working closely with the new Integrated Data Service (IDS) within the Office of National...