Family Resources Survey
An annual report that provides facts and figures about the incomes and living circumstances of households and families in the UK.
The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is a continuous household survey which collects information on a representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom. These annual publications provide statistics and commentary on:
- income from all sources
- housing tenure
- caring needs and responsibilities
- disability
- pension participation
- savings and investment
- self employment
- household food security
Updates in the latest release of the Family Resources Survey
The latest release was published on 23 March 2023.
Updates in the latest to be aware of are:
- Food Bank usage
- Sandwich Carers
- Care tables
- Income and State Support tables
Food Bank usage
The survey includes new information on food bank usage. We have published the percentage of households using a food bank within the last 30 days (and within the last 12 months) of their interview date, split by several household characteristics, such as:
- income
- education
- ethnicity
- household composition
We will also include relevant variables on the dataset we will release to the UK Data Service.
Sandwich Carers
The survey has introduced a Sandwich Carer category for the first time, in some of the Care chapter tables. In the Family Resources Survey data, a Sandwich Carer is defined as someone caring for a child in their household and for an adult relative. The inclusion of this analysis in the publication means that information about Sandwich Carers is more easily accessible to users.
Improvements have been made to define a Sandwich Carer more precisely, clearly specifying all of the following:
- that the child within the household of the carer is dependent on them or receiving care from them
- that the adult receiving care is any adult relative
- that children can potentially be sandwich carers
The published Family Resources Survey dataset has included a variable for Sandwich Carers since the 2019 to 2020 edition. This explicitly identifies if respondents are a sandwich carer and aligns with the Office for National Statistics definition.
Care tables
We have reviewed the presentation and content of the Care tables to ensure consistency across categories and improve clarity for users.
Table 5.7 has been redesigned to form two new tables; now 5.7a and 5.7b, that include some additional breakdowns. The relevant charts relating to the new tables have also been updated.
As a result, figures in table 5.7b showing proportions of informal carers looking after care recipients have been revised. Previously, these figures did show breakdowns for carers looking after one person only; following this change figures include informal carers looking after one or more people. Data published on Stat-Xplore will reflect these revisions.
These new breakdowns were previously only available to users of the published Family Resources Survey dataset; they were not previously included in the publication.
Income and State Support tables
The construction of Income and State Support tables has been reviewed. We discovered that in tables 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.14, the percentages were based on a denominator which did not include income from Universal Credit in its income-related components.
This issue has been resolved in the Family Resources Survey 2021 to 2022 publication, and corrections have also been made to the Family Resources Survey data released on Stat-Xplore.
It should be noted that the underlying Family Resources Survey dataset is not affected by this issue, as income variables (HHINC and so on) have always captured Universal Credit as a component. This issue has no impact on the Household Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset or publication.
Find future FRS publication dates in our statistics release calendar and other DWP statistics on the Statistics at DWP page.
Please contact team.frs@dwp.gov.uk with feedback and queries.
Latest release
FRS data on Stat Xplore
UK-level FRS data is available from FYE 2003 to FYE 2021 on the Stat-Xplore online tool. You can use Stat-Xplore to create your own FRS analysis.
Note that regional and ethnicity analysis are not available on the database because multiple-year averages cannot currently be produced. These are available in the FRS tables.
FRS information is available at:
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an adult level
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a child level
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an individual level
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a family level (benefit unit level)
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a household level
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a household food security level
We are seeking feedback from users on this development release of FRS data on Stat-Xplore. Email team.frs@dwp.gov.uk with your comments.
Release strategy
This release strategy acts as the formal notice of changes to future releases of the FRS publication.
The strategy highlights the confirmed changes to the 2022 to 2023 questionnaire and dataset, describes the potential release of new statistics within the publication and announces any other developments, for both 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024.
The FRS release strategy is not a static document; it will be updated as plans develop, to provide users with details of latest developments.
The development of these statistics follows DWP’s statistical work programme.
Previous releases
The FRS has been publishing annual reports since 1994. The reports for 2010 onwards are on GOV.UK and you can find the earlier statistical releases on The National Archives website.
Background information and guidance
Access the underlying data used to produce the statistics through the UK data archive.
FRS related statistics:
- Households below average income
- Pensioners’ incomes series
- Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up
Other related statistics:
Evaluation of the Family Resources Survey
Last updated 23 March 2023 + show all updates
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Added a link to the latest Family Resources Survey: financial year 2021 to 2022.
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Added information about the next release of the Family Resources Survey, due to be published on 23 March 2023.
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Added information about a new user guide for the Family Resources Survey data on Stat-Xplore.
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Added a link to the latest Family Resources Survey: financial year 2020 to 2021.
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Added a link to the latest Family Resources Survey: financial year 2019 to 2020.
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Added a note about the information in the next release of the Family Resources Survey report, this will be published on 25 March 2021.
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Added a link to the Family Resources Survey: financial year 2018 to 2019.
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Added Family Resources Survey: financial year 2017/18.
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Added Family Resources Survey: financial year 2016/17.
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Added Family Resources Survey: financial year 2015/16.
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Added Family Resources Survey: financial year 2014/15.
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Published Family Resources Survey: financial year 2013/14.
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Added 'Family Resources Survey – Benefit Block Pilot' research.
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Published 2012 to 2013 survey statistics.
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Published 3 new guidance documents: Uncertainty in Family Resources Survey-based analysis; Family Resources Survey: grossing methodology review and 2011 census updates; and Initial review of the Family Resources Survey weighting scheme.
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Published next release date for these statistics (1 July 2014).
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Added next release date
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First published.