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News : New dataset will provide valuable insight into income-related research

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The Integrated Data Service (IDS) is proud to announce a vast new data set which covers the Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, (PAYE RTI) and payment records of the majority of the UK’s working population.

A research-ready version of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) PAYE RTI data will soon be available on the IDS, a Trusted Research Environment, (TRE), which has the Office for National Statistics as its lead delivery partner and provides secure access to high quality data.

The HMRC PAYE RTI data in IDS, meets the requirements outlined in the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2017, and replaces personal information with an ONS ID to keep the data secure, help minimise the risk of re-identification and enables linkage to other data sources. It will be available for non-disclosive analysis for accredited research projects.

The HMRC PAYE RTI data contain over 30 million de-identified records per month, comprising variables around pay, tax, national insurance and pension contributions.

As well as being a go-to dataset for research into employment earnings and the economy, the data, when joined to other sources that will be coming into IDS, will be pivotal in helping researchers understand how income from pay interacts with key policy areas including; health, housing, crime, education, and access to culture.

The integration of de-identified HMRC PAYE RTI data into the IDS is the result of collaboration between HMRC and the Office for National Statistics.

Based on records from 2016 to 2023, the initial IDS data set covers records of those people who were in paid employment in the UK during that time.

The HMRC PAYE RTI data contains the key variables that can provide significant insight into the working population linked to characteristics including age, gender and geography.

It has been indexed, so that it can also be safely and securely joined to other data sets within the IDS platform, including data from areas such as health, crime and education, and is critical to understanding how these areas interact with earnings and employment.

It will also be central to helping Government Departments evaluate how income affects education outcomes, health, crime, housing and employment - and will help to evaluate the impact of policies aligned to these areas.

Pete Benton, Director General and the Senior Responsible Owner for IDS, said: “This is a significant data set for the IDS which will play a vital role in helping to understand the impact of the UK’s economy and employment.

“We are delighted to be able to make these data available and it has taken considerable work and cross Government collaboration to bring it to fruition.

“This dynamic new data set can join to other relevant data within the IDS and will be central to understanding the landscape of the UK workforce and the impact that has on key policy areas.

“Providing an environment where users can access rich, diverse and research-ready data in a safe and secure way is at the heart of what the IDS is trying to achieve. It is fantastic news to see this flagship data coming into the IDS and I am looking forward to hearing about the positive impact it will have.”

Jane Whittaker, Director of Analysis at HMRC, said: "HMRC takes the privacy of taxpayer information extremely seriously and we have worked closely with the ONS to provide a de-identified PAYE RTI dataset that enables valuable research while safeguarding customer information.

“We fully support the Government’s strategic objective to safely use administrative data held by departments within research and wider policy making. This data will provide vital insights into the UK economy and help support future, data driven, policy-making decisions."

 

Accessing the HMRC PAYE RTI data

It is planned for the HMRC PAYE RTI data to be available from the end of November 2024. Access to data sets using the IDS is available to all accredited researchers. That is someone who is trained, trusted, and approved to access data. Projects will require data owner approval and require accreditation by the Research Accreditation Panel. Find out how to become an accredited researcher in our how to access section (opens in a new tab)