Local area information in the UK 2022

FOI Ref: FOI-2023-1542

You asked

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information from [authority name/department]. Please may you provide me with:

• An Excel sheet that includes the following for every local area in the UK for 2022:
  • Local Area District Code
  • Local Area District Name
  • Upper Tier Local Authority Code
  • Upper Tier Local Authority Name
  • NUTS 3 Code
  • NUTS 3 Name  
  • NUTS 2 Code  
  • NUTS 2 Name  
  • NUTS 1 Code  
  • NUTS 1 Name  
  • Community Safety Partnerships Code   
  • Community Safety Partnerships Name   
  • Police Force Area Code
  • Police Force Area Name           
  • County 
  • Rural-Urban Classification (6 fold)         
  • Rural-Urban Classification (3 fold)         
  • Fire Authority Code      
  • Fire Authority Name

We said

Thank you for your request

Please see the associated download named 'Local_Area_Districts_in_the_UK_2022' containing the information requested.

Please note, the Rural-Urban Classifications (RUC) has not been included as we plan to publish this information in the future. The publication date is expected in April 2024. Therefore, Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies.

As a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions. 

This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.  

Please note that the RUC 2021 publication will cover England & Wales only (Northern Ireland and Scotland publish their own classifications).

The previous version of the RUC can be found on our Open Geography Portal, as the Rural Urban areas for 2011 LADs for England. The following link will take you to the Rural Urban areas for 2011 LADs for England.

These contain the 6 fold and 3 fold categories, using the field named RUC11 and Broad RUC11 respectively.

You may also find the Register of Geographic Codes useful, which gives a definitive list of statistical geographies.

Most of the information you have requested is already available to download for free from our Open Geography Portal. 

The Office for National Statistics is a member of a Government Statistical Service which has a Naming and Coding Policy covering the use of standard codes and names for UK geographies.