In Brief NSPL User Guide May 2018

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User Manual:

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May 2018

National Statistics

Postcode Lookup

User Guide

Edition:

May 2018

Editor:

ONS Geography

Office for National Statistics

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A National Statistics Publication

National Statistics are produced to high professional standards

set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They are

produced free from political influence.

About Us

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the executive office of

the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which

reports directly to Parliament. ONS is the UK government’s

single largest statistical producer. It compiles information about

the UK’s society and economy, and provides the evidence-base

for policy and decision-making, the allocation of resources, and

public accountability. The Directors General of ONS report

directly to the National Statistician who is the Authority's Chief

Executive and the Head of the Government Statistical Service.

Government Statistical Service

The Government Statistical Service (GSS) is a network of

professional statisticians and their staff operating both within

the ONS and across more than 30 other government

departments and agencies.

Contacts

This publication

For information about the content of this publication, contact

ONS Geography Customer Services

Tel: 01329 444971

Email: ons.geography@ons.gsi.gov.uk

Other customer enquiries

ONS Customer Contact Centre

Tel: 0845 601 3034

International: +44 (0)845 601 3034

Minicom: 01633 815044

Email: info@ons.gsi.gov.uk

Post: Room 1.101, Government Buildings,

Cardiff Road, Newport, South Wales NP10 8XG

www.ons.gov.uk

Media enquiries

Tel: 0845 604 1858

Email: media.relations@ons.gsi.gov.uk

Copyright and Reproduction

Please refer to the 'Postcode products' section on our Licences

page for the terms applicable to these products.

TRADEMARKS

Gridlink is a registered trademark of the Gridlink Consortium

and may not be used without the written consent of the Gridlink

Programme Board.

The Gridlink logo is a registered trademark.

OS AddressBase is a registered trademark of Ordnance

Survey (OS), the national mapping agency of Great Britain.

Boundary-Line is a trademark of OS, the national mapping

agency of Great Britain.

Pointer is a registered trademark of Land and Property Services,

an Executive Agency of the Department of Finance and Personnel

(Northern Ireland).

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Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

2. News ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Cancer Alliances / National Cancer Vanguard and Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships ...... 5

2.2 Format Changes – Names and Codes Files ..................................................................................................................... 5

2.3 Important NSPL Field Changes from February 2018 ................................................................................................... 5

2.4 Northern Ireland IMD Changes ............................................................................................................................................ 5

3. Licensing Requirements .......................................................................................................................................................... 6

4. Postcode Counts and Currency ............................................................................................................................................ 6

5. Geography Updates on the NSPL ....................................................................................................................................... 6

6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ..................................................................................................................................... 6

7. Postcode Content ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7

8. Gridlink ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8

9. Geographic Coordinates ......................................................................................................................................................... 8

10. Assignment of Postcodes to Geographies on the NSPL ............................................................................................ 9

11. PO Boxes and Non-geographic Postcodes ..................................................................................................................... 9

12. Terminated Postcodes ............................................................................................................................................................. 9

13. Postcode Reorganisations ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

14. Former Strategic Health Authorities (SHA), Health Boards and Health & Social Care Board ................... 10

15. Former Primary Care Organisations (PCO), Local Health Boards (LHB), Community Health Partnerships

(CHP) and Local Commissioning Groups (LCG) ........................................................................................................... 10

16. County Electoral Divisions (CED) ....................................................................................................................................... 10

17. 2011 Census Output Areas (OA) ........................................................................................................................................ 10

18. 2011 Census Area Classification for Output Areas (OAC) ........................................................................................ 11

19. 2011 Census Super Output Areas (SOA) & Scottish Data and Intermediate Zones (DZ & IZ) ................. 12

20. Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies ................................................................................................................... 12

21. European Electoral Regions (EER) ..................................................................................................................................... 13

22. Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) ............................................................................................ 13

23. NHS England (Regions) (NHSER) ....................................................................................................................................... 13

24. Regions (Former Government Office Regions - GOR) .............................................................................................. 13

25. Local Learning and Skills Council (LLSC)/Dept. of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills

(DCELLS), Enterprise Regions (ER) ..................................................................................................................................... 13

26. Travel to Work Areas (TTWA) .............................................................................................................................................. 14

27. National Parks ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14

28. 2011 Census Workplace Zones (WZ) ............................................................................................................................... 14

29. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) ............................................................................................................................ 14

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30. 2011 Census Built-up Areas (BUA)/Built-up Area Sub-divisions (BUASD) ........................................................ 14

31. 2011 Census Rural-Urban Classification ......................................................................................................................... 15

32. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) ................................................................................................................................... 16

33. Police Force Areas (PFA) ........................................................................................................................................................ 16

34. Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) ................................................................................................................................ 17

35. Cancer Alliances and the National Cancer Vanguard (CALNCV) .......................................................................... 17

36. Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP) .............................................................................................. 17

37. Names and Codes.................................................................................................................................................................... 17

38. Directory Specifications ......................................................................................................................................................... 17

39. Data Format ............................................................................................................................................................................... 17

40. Limitations/Data Quality ....................................................................................................................................................... 18

Table 1 - Numbers of Postcodes by User Type ............................................................................................................................ 19

Table 2 - Numbers of Postcodes, Postcode Sectors and Postcode Districts .................................................................... 20

Table 3 - Numbers of Postcodes With A Grid Reference ......................................................................................................... 23

Table 4 - Numbers of Terminated Postcodes ............................................................................................................................... 25

Annex A - NSPL Record Specification .............................................................................................................................................. 26

Annex B - Data Format ........................................................................................................................................................................... 39

Annex C - 2011 Census Very Small Population Wards and Their Assigned OA .............................................................. 40

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1. Introduction

The National Statistics Postcode Lookup (NSPL) relates both current and terminated postcodes in the

United Kingdom to a range of current statutory administrative, electoral, health and other statistical

geographies via ‘best-fit’ allocation from 2011 Census Output Areas (OA). National Parks and

Workplace Zones are exempt from ‘best-fit’ and use ‘exact-fit’ allocations – see Section 7 for further

details. It helps support the production of area based statistics from postcoded data. The NSPL is

produced by ONS Geography, who provide geographic support to the Office for National Statistics

(ONS) and geographic services used by other organisations. The NSPL is issued quarterly.

This User Guide contains information about the NSPL including:

• directory content;

• data currency;

• latest news, including area changes;

• the methodology for assigning areas to postcodes;

• data format;

• summary statistics; and

• data quality and limitations.

The NSPL reflects current and terminated postcodes using information supplied monthly by Royal

Mail. In most instances, the NSPL relates postcodes (as at the third Friday of the month prior to each

release) to geographic areas as at the end of the preceding year.

The NSPL uses the Government Statistical Service (GSS) standard 9-character codes throughout.

Lookup files linking these codes to statutory area names are included with the NSPL, in the

'Documents' folder. You are encouraged to adopt these standard names and codes, as they are the

recognised standard for National Statistics.

The NSPL is available to download (see Annex C) and the record specification at Annex B includes

complete details of all available fields.

2. News

2.1 Cancer Alliances / National Cancer Vanguard and Sustainability and

Transformation Partnerships

The May 2018 release of the NSPL includes the Cancer Alliances / National Cancer Vanguard

(CALNCV) and the Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP).

2.2 Format Changes – Names and Codes Files

From May 2018, the names and codes files that accompany each release of the ONSPD will be

supplied in MS Excel (XLSX) and UTF8 Comma Separated Variable (CSV) format. The latter replaces

the tab-delimited text (TXT) format as the latter does not support the accented characters in some

geography names. Click here for further information.

2.3 Important NSPL Field Changes from February 2018

For the February 2018 release onwards, the NSPL will include the following field after CTY:

• County electoral division (CED)

Two other fields will also be changing:

• The 2012 Pan SHA field (HRO) will be updated to the NHS England (Regions) (NHSER)

• The GOR field will be renamed RGN to reflect the 2010 Regions (former GORs)

The HRO field will still be available on the NHSPD. These changes are being made to maintain the

manageability of the postcode directory file sizes.

2.4 Northern Ireland IMD Changes

The NI Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) was updated in November 2017. These changes are

included from February 2018 on the NSPL.

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3. Licensing Requirements

You should be aware of the attribution and sub-licensing requirements associated with the use of the

Code-Point Open data (from which our postcode products are derived) contained in the OS

OpenData Licence, namely that you, the licensee:

• Must always use the following attribution statements to acknowledge the source of the

information:

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights [year]

Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database rights [year]

Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database rights [year]

• Must ensure that the same attribution statements are contained in any sub-licences of the

Information that are granted, together with a requirement that any further sub-licences do the

same.

You should note that following agreement with Land and Property Services (LPS) Northern Ireland,

Open Government Licensing terms do not apply to NI postcodes; separate licensing terms and

conditions now apply in the form of an LPS End User licence or contact LPS directly for commercial

use. Please see the Licences web page for further details.

Note: We do not have the capability to deal with detailed postcode queries relating to Scotland

and Northern Ireland, but can pass them on to the appropriate government departments.

4. Postcode Counts and Currency

The NSPL contains postcodes within the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

They are current to the 3rd Friday of the previous month and include both live and terminated

postcodes.

Table 1 shows the split between large and small users by country, and the change in the numbers of

postcodes since the previous quarter (counts taken from the ONSPD).

Table 2 shows the numbers of postcodes, postcode sectors and postcode districts by postcode area.

Table 3 shows the numbers of postcodes assigned grid references by positional quality indicator,

country and user type (counts taken from the ONSPD).

Table 4 shows the numbers of terminated postcodes.

5. Geography Updates on the NSPL

The OA lookups that serve as inputs to each release of the NSPL are usually updated at the end of

each year. Therefore, the February release of the NSPL will generally be the first to reflect any

geography changes in the previous year. This release contains 2017 LAD, ward and LAU2 codes, and

April 2018 CCG updates.

6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why are some postcodes not assigned to administrative and electoral areas?

- This mainly applies to new postcodes, which are assigned grid references by ONS Geography

using imputation techniques - see Sections 6 and 7. In some cases the imputation procedure

cannot assign a grid reference and, because the NSPL processing system assigns postcodes to

OAs using grid references, codes for the administrative and electoral areas cannot be derived. In

time, the addresses in the new postcodes are surveyed by Ordnance Survey (OS), who then

assign accurate grid references.

Why are some postcodes assigned to the wrong administrative and electoral areas?

- There are two reasons:

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1. Imputation: Some postcodes are assigned to administrative and electoral areas using an

imputed grid reference. Imputation is not an exact science and can cause postcodes to be

wrongly assigned until more accurate information becomes available. Please inform ONS

Geography Customer Services of any postcodes considered to be wrongly assigned.

2. Straddling: As the postal, OA and higher geographies do not map directly onto one another,

addresses within a postcode often straddle boundaries. Postcodes are always assigned to

single administrative and electoral areas via ‘best-fit’ allocation of OA whilst allocation of

postcode to OA is based upon a single grid reference (which is the mean of all the addresses

in the postcode, snapped to the address closest to the mean). This will inevitably lead to

apparent wrong assignments, where addresses in a postcode fall in two

administrative/electoral areas (see Section 6).

Why don’t postcode areas follow administrative and electoral area boundaries?

- Postcode areas are defined and used by Royal Mail for efficient mail delivery and have no

relationship with administrative and electoral areas. Royal Mail requires a relatively stable

geography in order to deliver its services, which the administrative and electoral area geography

cannot provide.

Why do some postcodes appear to move around?

- There are three main reasons:

1. Update: As the grid reference allocation is updated from imputed to surveyed (see Section

6), so the allocation of one or more geographies may also change.

2. Drift: With demolition and new-build, the addresses that constitute a postcode may change.

If this happens the centroid grid reference will also change, and the geography allocations

will be updated accordingly.

3. Re-use: Royal Mail endeavour to never re-use a postcode, but under some circumstances a

postcode may be terminated and then brought back into use in a different location. If this

happens, the grid reference and geography allocations will change accordingly.

Why have some allocations changed after August 2012 when the geographies haven’t changed?

- As part of the 2011 Census Output Area maintenance, OAs had their population weighted

centroids recalculated using the latest Census populations. As well as this there was also a

change in centroid calculation from the mean average to the median average. This change in

the population and methodology means that almost all OA population weighted centroids have

moved from their original position. In a number of cases the new OA population weighted

centroids now fall into different higher geographies. This causes the differences in the

allocations after August 2012, even where the geographies haven’t changed.

7. Postcode Content

The NSPL contains both ‘live’ postcodes and postcodes which have been terminated by Royal Mail

but not subsequently re-used (see Section 8).

Postcode coverage is for the entire United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The

split between large and small users and country and the changes in the numbers of postcodes since

the previous NSPL are shown in Table 1 of the Version Notes.

The numbers of postcodes, postcode sectors and postcode districts by postcode areas are shown in

Table 2 of the Version Notes.

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The NSPL contains fixed length 7- and 8-character postcode formats, and the variable length e-Gif

(e-Government Interoperability Framework) standard postcode format. The latter allows for a single

space between the two (outward and inward) parts of the postcode (see Annex A).

8. Gridlink

The postcode is a key piece of data that can provide a geo-spatial reference for many uses beyond

the delivery of mail. In order to make full use of its potential, and to deliver improved consistency, a

consortium of organisations was formed in 1999 to allow the specialist resources of each member to

be pooled. The Gridlink Consortium consists of Royal Mail Group plc, OS (GB), National Records of

Scotland (NRS), Northern Ireland Land and Property Services (LPS) and ONS.

It was recognised that a core set of data within each Consortium member’s postcode products

needed to be consistent and branded. The branding name is 'Gridlink' and the core data used in

the NSPL are:

• All current (i.e. ‘live’) UK unit postcodes (but ONS maintains postcodes terminated and not

subsequently re-used by Royal Mail).

• Grid references to 1 metre resolution.

• Positional quality indicators for grid references.

Each of the Gridlink Consortium members produces their postcode products based upon the core

data.

9. Geographic Coordinates

Postcode coordinates on the NSPL are available in two formats – 1 metre resolution grid reference

and decimal degrees latitude and longitude.

The majority of grid references are derived from OS AddressBase that contains grid references for

each address. Newly introduced postcodes initially have a grid reference that has been imputed by

ONS Geography. In due course these are replaced by improved OS AddressBase grid references

which use data supplied by OS field surveyors.

Each grid reference is given a Positional Quality Indicator (PQI) to denote the accuracy of the grid

reference, as follows:

1 - within the building of the matched address closest to the postcode mean,

2 - as for 1 above, except by visual inspection of Landline maps (Scotland only),

3 - approximate to within 50 metres,

4 - postcode unit mean (mean of matched addresses with the same postcode, but not snapped to an

address),

5 - imputed by ONS, by reference to surrounding postcode grid references,

6 - postcode sector mean (mainly PO Boxes),

8 - terminated postcode, last known ONS grid reference used,

9 - no coordinates available.

The grid references provided for Northern Ireland postcodes are derived from the LPS 'Pointer'

product and use the Irish National Grid system that covers all of Ireland and is independent of the

British National Grid.

The degrees latitude and longitude are calculated from the 1 metre grid reference by converting the

easting and northing to numeric and then one point shapefile is created for GB using the

'BritishNatGrid' coordinate system and another for Northern Ireland using 'Ireland 1965.ING'. These

files are then projected to GCS_WGS_1984, using an OSGB_1936_to_WGS_1984_Petroleum

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transformation for GB and a TM75_to_WGS_1984_2 transformation for NI. Latitude and longitude are

then calculated from the resulting x and y co-ordinates.

No geographic coordinates are provided for postcodes in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

10. Assignment of Postcodes to Geographies on the NSPL

Postcodes are assigned to administrative, electoral and health areas by 'best-fit' allocation to OA

using the population-weighted centroid grid reference for each OA plotted against a range of digital

boundaries using a ‘point-in-polygon’ methodology. Postcodes are themselves plotted to OA

boundaries using their centroid grid reference and the same point-in-polygon methodology. The

exceptions are National Parks (these are exempt due to the nature of their boundaries) and

Workplace Zones (these are exempt as they are not built from whole OAs) – postcodes are allocated

to these on an 'exact-fit' basis using the same point-in-polygon methodology.

11. PO Boxes and Non-geographic Postcodes

Non-geographic postcodes can either be special postcodes assigned to some large users of the

postal service or PO Boxes that lie within a (pseudo) postcode district that does not form a discrete

part of a post town. These will all have been assigned a grid reference, usually the local Royal Mail

sorting office, and the majority have a PQI of 1 but some have been assigned a PQI of 6 (see Section

9).

12. Terminated Postcodes

Postcodes are frequently terminated by Royal Mail for various reasons but most commonly it is due

to the demolition/re-development of buildings or to postcode reorganisations (see next section).

Terminated postcodes are occasionally re-used by Royal Mail but not usually before an elapsed

period of two or three years. In such circumstances, all terminated postcodes and their grid

references are retained on the NSPL and a 'termination' date is added which provides a clear

indication of a postcode’s status.

Areal data assigned to terminated postcodes are updated prior to each release of the NSPL, so the

directory contains

current

information linked to each record.

If, and when, a postcode is subsequently re-used by Royal Mail the old grid reference and

termination date are removed, thus deleting all reference to the former existence of the postcode

from the NSPL. The new location of the postcode will initially have a grid reference imputed by ONS

Geography, which will eventually be replaced by an improved one derived from OS AddressBase.

As the Gridlink system processes only 'live' postcodes it is not possible to assign Gridlink quality

grid references to postcodes terminated prior to November 2000. Grid references for these

postcodes have been copied from the old 'Traditional' postcode directory and have been given a

single PQI (value 8).

The numbers of terminated postcodes included in each issue of the NSPL are shown in Table 4 of the

Version Notes.

13. Postcode Reorganisations

Royal Mail occasionally conduct postcode reorganisations in order to create more postcodes in areas

where the number of postcodes that can be created under the current structure is exhausted. For

example, SO3 was reorganised some years ago into SO31 and SO32 to cater for current demands,

and the reorganisation additionally allows SO33-SO39 postcodes to be assigned at a later date.

Royal Mail issue lists of postcode reorganisations in their 'Update' series, details of which can be

found at their website.

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14. Former Strategic Health Authorities (SHA), Health Boards and Health & Social

Care Board

The maintenance of health area codes is the responsibility of the Organisation Data Services (ODS) in

England, and ONS on behalf of NHS Scotland and Health Solutions Wales. These areas were

reorganised in England in 2002, in Wales in 2003 and in Scotland in 2006. The SHAs in England were

further reorganised by the NHS on 1 July 2006 to reduce the number from 28 to 10 before being

abolished on 31 March 2013. In Northern Ireland the Health & Social Care Board effective from 1

April 2009 replaced the four previous Health & Social Services Boards. The following health authority

codes apply to Channel Islands and the Isle of Man:

L00000001 – Jersey

L00000002 – Guernsey (incl. Sark and Herm)

L00000003 – Alderney

M00000001 – Isle of Man

15. Former Primary Care Organisations (PCO), Local Health Boards (LHB),

Community Health Partnerships (CHP) and Local Commissioning Groups (LCG)

Postcodes on the NSPL have been assigned PCO codes (England), LHB codes (Wales), CHP codes

(Scotland), LCG codes (NI) or Primary Healthcare Directorate code (Isle of Man). Postcodes in the

Channel Islands (for which there are no equivalent areas) have been assigned a pseudo code.

The primary care geography in England was reorganised significantly on 1 October 2006. When

PCOs were statutorily defined, they were done so in terms of whole local authority districts and/or

electoral wards (in most instances) that existed at the time. There were 146 Primary Care Trusts (PCT)

and five Care Trusts in place when they were abolished on 31 March 2013.

The 22 LHBs in Wales (from 1 April 2003) merged to form seven LHBs on 1 October 2009.

CHPs were established by the NHS boards in Scotland as key building blocks in the modernisation of

the NHS joint services. Managed jointly by local authorities and health boards, CHPs nested within

council area boundaries but some crossed health board boundaries. In April 2012, the 36 CHPs

became 34, covering the whole of Scotland. CHPs were terminated on 31 March 2015.

Five LCGs were introduced in Northern Ireland on 1 April 2009.

A single Primary Healthcare Directorate was introduced in the Isle of Man in 2008 to support the

rollout of NHS systems.

16. County Electoral Divisions (CED)

English county councils use county electoral divisions (CED) to elect councillors. These CEDs must be

confined within district boundaries, but need not be based on whole electoral wards. The only

exceptions are the Isles of Scilly and the Greater London Authority (GLA). CEDs do not exist within

UAs.

17. 2011 Census Output Areas (OA)

2001 Census OAs were built from clusters of adjacent unit postcodes but as they reflected the

characteristics of the actual Census data they could not be generated until after data processing.

They were designed to have similar population sizes and be as socially homogenous as possible

(based on tenure of household and accommodation type) - note though that homogeneity was not

used as a factor in Scotland. Urban/rural mixes were avoided where possible (i.e. OAs preferably

consisted entirely of urban postcodes or entirely of rural postcodes). They had more-or-less regular

shapes and tended to be constrained by obvious boundaries such as major roads. The OAs were

required to have a specified minimum size to ensure the confidentiality of data.

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England and Wales

OAs were maintained after the 2011 Census so that they could be adjusted where the populations

had changed significantly. Where an OA had breached its upper threshold of 625 population or 250

households it was split down to create a number of smaller OAs. Where an OA had breached its

lower threshold of 100 population or 40 households it was merged with an adjacent OA to create a

geography that was within threshold.

OAs created as part of the 2011 Census maintenance were based on postcodes as at Census Day

2011 while the unmaintained OAs reflected the postcodes as at Census Day 2001. The minimum OA

size is 40 resident households and 100 resident persons but the recommended size was rather larger

at 125 households. These size thresholds meant that unusually small wards and parishes were

incorporated into larger OAs. In total there are 181,408 OAs in England (171,372) and Wales (10,036).

National Statistics policy is that estimates published for any geographical area are aggregations of

whole OAs (the lowest geographical level for which census estimates are produced). This policy

ensures that estimates can be released for any area that contains at least one OA, in that it will

contain the minimum population to ensure confidentiality. Eighteen wards have a very small

population and have been assigned to a 'parent' OA (see Annex C for details).

In 2003, OAs fitted within the boundaries of 2003 statistical wards (and parishes) but this relationship

had not been maintained for 2011 due to the high levels of administrative geography boundary

change. In 2003 postcodes that straddled an electoral ward/division (or parish) boundary were split

between two or more OAs. This scenario is now more prevalent as the postcodes have changed

during the intercensal period without this being reflected within the OA hierarchy.

Scotland

OAs for the 2011 Census were created as groups of postcodes nesting as well as possible into the

following geographies, in descending order of preference (when not all postcodes in the OA belong

to a single combination of these area types).

- Council Area

- The 2010 Locality dataset

The main aim governing this order of geographies was to give continuity with the 2001 OAs while

ensuring, as far as possible, that 2011 OAs fit into the appropriate locality (urban area) which are

seen as an increasingly important statistical area. Where possible, postcodes that were excluded from

the 2010 Locality dataset, but subsequently met the population density criteria for inclusion in a

locality, were included in an OA in the locality or grouped to form a new urban OA.

The majority of 2011 OAs are of similar size to those used in 2001 to allow as much comparison as

possible with the 2001 Census data. Where a 2001 OA dropped below the 2011 minimum thresholds

for confidentiality (50 persons and 20 households) e.g. because of housing demolitions, it was

merged with a neighbouring 2001 OA. In addition, 2001 OAs which increased in size, particularly

those which exceeded the 2011 recommended maximum threshold (approximately 78 households),

were split where possible into two or more OAs.

Northern Ireland

Updated 2011 Census OAs are called small areas and are re-coded to nine-character format. There

are 4,537 small areas in Northern Ireland.

18. 2011 Census Area Classification for Output Areas (OAC)

The 2011 Census OAC is used to group together geographic areas according to key characteristics

common to the population in that grouping. These groupings are called clusters, and are derived

using 2011 population census data. The classification was originally produced with lower case

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characters but these have been converted to upper case for consistency purposes on the NSPL. You

can download a complete listing of the OAC names and codes from the Open Geography portal.

19. 2011 Census Super Output Areas (SOA) & Scottish Data and Intermediate

Zones (DZ & IZ)

SOAs exist in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the Scottish equivalents are DZs and IZs.

England and Wales

The Lower Layer SOAs (LSOA) were designed with a mean population figure of 1,500 and each

consists of a grouping of OAs, typically five. There are 34,753 LSOAs, with an absolute minimum

population size of 1,000.

The Middle Layer SOAs (MSOA) have a mean population figure of 7,200 (minimum 5,000) and consist

of a grouping of LSOAs. MSOAs are constrained by the 2003 local authority boundaries used for

2001 Census outputs.

The LSOAs and MSOAs have been maintained as part of the 2011 Census OA maintenance. As with

OAs, they have been split or merged where they have breached predefined population and

household thresholds.

Scotland

DZs are groups of OAs which have populations of between 500 and 1,000 household residents.

Redrawn as a result of detailed population information from the 2011 Census, they have been

available since November 2014.

IZs are the geography that sits above DZs and they have a minimum population of 2,500 - 6,000,

which are of a size between the LSOAs and MSOAs in England and Wales. There are 1,279 IZs.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland SOAs were released in 2005. There is one layer of SOA, with a population size

between 1,300 and 2,800, similar in size to the LSOAs in England and Wales.

20. Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies

England and Wales

Parliamentary constituencies relate to those defined by the Parliamentary Constituencies (England)

Order 2007, the Parliamentary Constituencies (England) (Amendment) Order 2008 and the

Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2008, and which came into effect at the

May 2010 General Election. No further changes are envisaged until 2020.

Scotland

The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004, passed by the UK parliament in July 2004, came

into effect upon the dissolution of the last UK parliament and breaks the linkage between UK

parliamentary constituencies and Scottish parliamentary constituencies. This Act has enabled the

Westminster government to reduce the number of Scottish constituencies in the UK parliament in

line with recommendations made by the Boundary Commission for Scotland following its Fifth

Periodical Review of Constituencies (December 2004).

The Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 2005 details the reduction of the number of

constituencies for the UK parliament from 72 to 59 Scottish seats. The changes bring the size of

Scottish constituencies more into line with the size of English seats. English constituencies currently

contain nearly 70,000 voters on average, compared to the Scottish average of 53,500.

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Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland the commission's Fifth Periodical Report on Parliamentary Constituencies

outlined changes to and the composition of constituencies in 2010. In practice the new parliamentary

constituencies are not very different to their predecessors. As before there are 18 constituencies, all

retaining the same name. In the main, the boundary amendment process has involved the re-

assigning of existing electoral wards from one constituency into a neighbouring constituency. The

only exception concerns Derryaghy ward within Lisburn City local government district which

previously resided entirely within Lagan Valley county constituency. It has now been split into two

separate wards - Derryaghy (North) and Derryaghy (South), the former now included in Belfast West

borough constituency, the latter remaining where it was.

21. European Electoral Regions (EER)

EERs are as defined in the European Parliamentary Elections Bill (Bill 65, 1997) to amend the

European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 so as to alter the method used in Great Britain for

electing Members of the European Parliament. The Bill created 9 EERs in England with 64 MEPs;

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each constitute a single EER, with 7 MEPs, 4 MEPs and 3 MEPs

respectively.

22. Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS)

NUTS is a hierarchical classification of spatial units that provides a breakdown of the European

Union’s territory for producing regional statistics that are comparable across the Union.

The NUTS area classification in the United Kingdom comprises current national administrative and

electoral areas, except in Scotland where some NUTS areas comprise whole and/or part Local

Enterprise Regions.

NUTS levels 1-3 are frozen for a minimum of three years and NUTS levels 4 and 5 are called local

administrative units (LAU) levels 1 and 2 respectively.

The NSPL contains the LAU2 code (9-character ward code for England and Wales, 'S31' code for

Scotland and, currently, the 10-character Eurostat code for Northern Ireland). A comprehensive

lookup of LAU and NUTS codes is included with the accompanying metadata.

23. NHS England (Regions) (NHSER)

NHSERs (formerly NHS Commissioning Regions - NHS CR) are sub-divisions of the NHS

commissioning board. There are four NHS ERs in England and they were renamed from NHS CRs in

May 2017. The NHS CRs were formed on 1 April 2013, replacing pan SHAs, and are responsible for

providing clinical and professional leadership at sub-national level. They are also responsible for the

co-ordination of planning, operational management and emergency preparedness at sub-national

level and undertaking direct commissioning functions and processes.

24. Regions (Former Government Office Regions - GOR)

The nine GORs were abolished on 1 April 2011 and are now known as 'regions' for statistical

purposes. They were the primary statistical subdivisions of England and also the areas in which the

Government Offices for the Regions fulfilled their role. Each GOR covered a number of local

authorities and will remain as a 'frozen' geography on the NSPL.

25. Local Learning and Skills Council (LLSC)/Dept. of Chil dren, Education, Lifelong

Learning and S kills (DCELLS), Enterprise Regions (ER)

LLSCs were introduced in 2001, replacing TECs in England. They were abolished on 31 March 2010.

Also in 2001, TECs in Wales were replaced by ELWas (Education and Learning Wales). In April 2007

DCELLS replaced ELWas. These organisations were established to increase the standards and range

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of learning opportunities for businesses, communities and the individual. There were 47 LLSCs in

England and there are four DCELLS areas in Wales.

ERs replaced LECs in Scotland after September 2007. Government-funded bodies, they aim to foster

local economic growth and development in Scotland.

26. Travel to Work Areas (TTWA)

TTWAs are used in labour market analysis and reflect reasonably self-contained zones in which the

bulk of the resident population also work. The 228 current TTWAs were defined in 2015 using 2011

Census information on home and work addresses and are built from 2011 Census LSOAs in England

and Wales, DZs in Scotland, and SOAs in Northern Ireland. The previous (2007) areas were based on

the same statistical geographies from the 2001 Census.

27. National Parks

National parks are designed to conserve the natural beauty and cultural heritage of areas of

outstanding landscape value, and to promote public understanding and enjoyment of these areas.

There are currently 13 national parks in England and Wales. Of these, 10 were designated in the

1950s following the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, The Broads

(Norfolk/Suffolk) has had a similar status since 1989 (the Broads has its own special authority, the

Broads Authority, which is similar to the National Park Authorities but with extra powers in relation to

navigation) and The New Forest was given national park status in 2005. The South Downs is the

latest national park, becoming fully operational on 1 April 2011. In Scotland the National Parks

(Scotland) Act was passed in July 2000. The first Scottish national park, Loch Lomond and the

Trossachs, was established in July 2002, and the Cairngorms National Park was established in March

2003. Their boundaries are not constrained by any other geography. Unlike other geographies (apart

from Workplace Zones – see next section), postcodes are assigned to a national park on an 'exact-fit'

basis rather than 'best-fit'.

28. 2011 Census Workplace Zones (WZ)

Following the 2011 Census, a new geography, WZ, was created for England and Wales, followed in

due course by Scotland and Northern Ireland. These were produced based on workplace data

collected from the Census. WZs are created by merging or splitting the 2011 OAs using WZ postcode

building blocks, and because of this, postcodes are allocated to WZs on an 'exact-fit' basis rather

than 'best-fit'. The upper threshold of a WZ is unlimited postcodes or 625 workers and the lower

threshold is three postcodes or 200 workers.

29. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG)

CCGs are groups of GPs that are responsible for designing local health services in England by

commissioning or buying health and care services, and all GP practices have to belong to a CCG.

They came into effect on 1 April 2013 and are built from 2011 LSOAs.

30. 2011 Census Built-up Areas (BUA)/Built-up Area Sub-divisions (BUASD)

England and Wales

BUAs and BUASDs were created as part of the 2011 Census outputs and provide information on

villages, towns and cities, allowing comparisons between people living in built-up areas and those

living elsewhere. Previously called urban areas, data has been produced every 10 years since 1981.

A new methodology to capture the areas was used in the 2011 version, but it still follows the rules

used in previous versions so that results will be broadly comparable.

There are areas included in the ONSPD but not in the NSPL. These BUAs and BUASDs have been

identified as areas that have not been allocated a population. In most cases this is because they do

not have any residential buildings – for example, industrial estates, airports, theme parks, etc. There

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are 337 BUAs where population has not been allocated (305 in England, 32 in Wales) and 133

BUASDs where population has not been allocated (123 in England, 10 in Wales).

Scotland

This data is not yet available.

Northern Ireland

This data is not yet available.

31. 2011 Census Rural-Urban Classification

England and Wales

The rural and urban classification of postcodes for England and Wales allows a rural/urban view of

datasets. It is based on the 2011 rural-urban classification of OAs released in August 2013. This

product was sponsored by a cross-Government working group comprising Department for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Department of the Communities and Local

Government (DCLG), ONS and the Welsh Government. It is a revised version of the classification

produced after the 2001 Census, but with additional detail in the urban domain.

Postcodes have been assigned to the urban or rural category of the OA into which each one falls.

OAs are treated as 'urban' if they were allocated to a 2011 built-up area with a population of 10,000

or more. The urban domain is then further sub-divided into three broad morphological types based

on the predominant settlement component. As with the previous version of the classification, the

remaining 'rural' OAs are grouped into three broad morphological types based on the predominant

settlement component.

The classification also categorises OAs based on context – i.e. whether the wider surrounding area of

a given OA is sparsely populated or less sparsely populated.

The resulting classification produces the following 10 classes (note, there are no major or minor

conurbations in a sparse context):

A1 = urban major conurbation: OA falls within a built-up area with a population of 10,000 or more

and is assigned to the 'major conurbation' settlement category. The wider surrounding area is less

sparsely populated;

B1 = urban minor conurbation: OA falls within a built-up area with a population of 10,000 or more

and is assigned to the 'minor conurbation' settlement category. The wider surrounding area is less

sparsely populated;

C1 = urban city and town: OA falls within a built-up area with a population of 10,000 or more and is

assigned to the 'city and town' settlement category. The wider surrounding area is less sparsely

populated;

C2 = urban city and town in a sparse setting: OA falls within a built-up area with a population of

10,000 or more and is assigned to the 'city and town' settlement category. The wider surrounding

area is sparsely populated;

D1 = rural town and fringe: OA is assigned to the 'town and fringe' settlement category. The wider

surrounding area is less sparsely populated;

D2 = rural town and fringe in a sparse setting: OA is assigned to the 'town and fringe' settlement

category. The wider surrounding area is sparsely populated;

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E1 = rural village: OA is assigned to the 'village' settlement category. The wider surrounding area is

less sparsely populated;

E2 = rural village in a sparse setting: OA is assigned to the 'village' settlement category. The wider

surrounding area is sparsely populated;

F1 = rural hamlet and isolated dwellings: OA is assigned to the 'hamlet and isolated dwelling'

settlement category. The wider surrounding area is less sparsely populated;

F2 = rural hamlet and isolated dwellings in a sparse setting: OA is assigned to the 'hamlet and

isolated dwelling' settlement category. The wider surrounding area is sparsely populated.

Scotland

The rural-urban classification in Scotland is consistent with the Scottish Executive’s core definition of

rurality that defines settlements of 3,000 or less people to be rural. It also classifies areas as remote

based on drive times from settlements of 10,000 or more people. This definition is unchanged from

the 2001 Census:

1 = Large Urban Area: Settlement of over 125,000 people;

2 = Other Urban Area: Settlement of 10,000 to 125,000 people;

3 = Accessible Small Town: Settlement of 3,000 to 10,000 people, within 30 minutes’ drive of a

settlement of 10,000 or more;

4 = Remote Small Town: Settlement of 3,000 to 10,000 people, with a drive time of 30 to 60 minutes

to a settlement of 10,000 or more;

5 = Very Remote Small Town: Settlement of 3,000 to 10,000 people, with a drive time of over 60

minutes to a settlement of 10,000 or more;

6 = Accessible Rural: Settlement of less than 3,000 people, within 30 minutes’ drive of a settlement of

10,000 or more;

7 = Remote Rural: Settlement of less than 3,000 people, with a drive time of 30 to 60 minutes to a

settlement of 10,000 or more;

8 = Very Remote Rural: Settlement of less than 3,000 people, with a drive time of over 60 minutes to

a settlement of 10,000 or more.

Northern Ireland

This data is not yet available.

32. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP)

LEPs are voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses in England set up in 2011

by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help determine local economic priorities

and lead economic growth and job creation within the local area. They carry out some of the

functions previously carried out by the regional development agencies which were abolished in

March 2012. To date there are 39 LEPs in operation, with some areas overlapping. Please see the

'Guide to Presenting Statistics for LEPs' document on the Open Geography portal for further details.

33. Police Force Areas (PFA)

There are currently 43 PFAs in England and Wales (39 in England and 4 in Wales), with one each for

Scotland and Northern Ireland. They each comprise one or more complete local authority. Please

see the 'Guide to Presenting Statistics for Police Force Areas' document on the Open Geography

portal for further details.

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34. Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

England

The 2015 IMD ranks each English LSOA from 1 (most deprived) to 32,844 (least deprived). See link

for further information.

Wales

The 2014 Welsh equivalent (WIMD) ranks each Welsh LSOA from 1 (most deprived) to 1,909 (least

deprived). See link for further information.

Scotland

The 2016 Scottish equivalent (SIMD16), based on 2011 Census DZs, ranks each DZ from 1 (most

deprived) to 6,976 (least deprived). See link for further information.

Northern Ireland

The 2017 NI equivalent based on 2001 SAs (unchanged for 2011) ranks each SA from 1 (most

deprived) to 890 (least deprived. See link for further information.

N.B. Each IMD is unique ONLY within each country, and therefore should not be used in isolation.

35. Cancer Alliances and the National Cancer Va nguard (CALNCV)

CALNCVs lead the local delivery of the Independent Cancer Taskforce’s ambitions for improving

services, care and outcomes for everyone with cancer. There are currently three National Cancer

Vanguard areas (one covering Greater Manchester and two covering London) and 16 Cancer

Alliances covering the rest of England.

36. Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP)

There are 44 STPs covering all of England, where local NHS organisations and councils have drawn

up proposals to improve health and care in the areas they serve. STP can also stand for ‘sustainability

and transformation plan’ - plans drawn up in each of these areas setting out ways to improve NHS

services and population health in England.

37. Names and Codes

The names of all administrative and health areas are the standard names adopted for use throughout

National Statistics. The names are those used in Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments to

publish changes to the administrative and health geographies.

The NSPL uses the Government Statistical Service (GSS) standard nine-character codes for

administrative, electoral and health areas. You are encouraged to adopt these standard names and

codes, as they are the recognised standard for National Statistics. You can download full names and

codes listings from the Open Geography portal.

38. Directory Specifications

Annex A lists the specification for the records on the NSPL, giving the length and description of each

field, the range of possible codes and any qualifying comments. It also provides further general

information on each field, such as source, currency and extent of data. For those customers using

the .dbf or .csv formats, the field names are also given.

39. Data Format

The NSPL is available to download in comma separated variable format. Details are given in Annex B.

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40. Limitati ons/Data Quality

No warranty is given by ONS as to the accuracy or comprehensiveness of the data contained on the

NSPL. We will take reasonable steps to correct any identified errors and, if appropriate, will re-issue

the NSPL.

Two types of errors may occur in the NSPL - omissions and inaccuracies. With such a large file it is

inevitable that some information will be missing. With monthly postcode updating procedures the

likelihood of missing postcodes is small. The very latest postcodes (i.e. those introduced between

the latest monthly postcode update and the issue of the NSPL) will not be included, but any other

missing postcodes are likely to have been absent from the Royal Mail data file which forms the basis

of the monthly input into the NSPL. Missing postcodes should therefore be reported to ONS

Geography Customer Services for forwarding to Royal Mail.

As previously stated, inaccuracies also originate from two sources – straddling and wrong

assignments (imputation).

You should also note that the use of the NSPL to allocate individual addresses to geographies might

be imprecise because of the effects of straddling and wrong assignments.

If you identify any errors and/or omissions, you should notify ONS Geography Customer Services

and, with the assistance of the appropriate Gridlink Consortium member organisation, we will

endeavour to:

- investigate all reports of suspected errors and/or omissions to areal references; and

- inform you of the outcome within 5 working days if we can resolve the query ourselves.

Corrections and identified omissions to the data content of the NSPL are included on the subsequent

NSPL release.

Incompatibility with certain spreadsheet packages

Due to the large number of records on the NSPL, the standard CSV file is incompatible with certain

standard spreadsheet packages. You should use the ‘multi-CSV’ file, which includes a file for each

postcode area, instead.

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Table 1

Numbers of Postcodes by User Type

(and the Changes Since the Previous Release)

Large users

Small users

Total

Country

FEB 2018

MAY 2018

Change

FEB 2018

MAY 2018

Change

FEB 2018

MAY 2018

Change

England

628,726

629,839

+1,113

1,545,383

1,547,588

+2,205

2,174,109

2,177,427

+3,318

Wales

27,043

27,074

+31

111,234

111,316

+82

138,277

138,390

+113

Scotland

41,135

41,174

+39

181,447

181,657

+210

222,582

222,831

+249

Great Britain

696,904

698,087

+1,183

1,838,064

1,840,561

+2,497

2,534,968

2,538,648

+3,680

Northern Ireland

9,308

9,319

+11

51,781

51,846

+65

61,089

61,165

+76

United Kingdom

706,212

707,406

+1,194

1,889,845

1,892,407

+2,562

2,596,057

2,599,813

+3,756

Guernsey

881

881

0

2,488

2,488

0

3,369

3,369

0

Jersey

1,144

1,146

+2

2,379

2,381

+2

3,523

3,527

+4

Channel Islands

2,025

2,027

+2

4,867

4,869

+2

6,892

6,896

+4

Isle of Man

1,624

1,626

+2

4,383

4,391

+8

6,007

6,017

+10

All

709,861

711,059

+1,198

1,899,095

1,901,667

+2,572

2,608,956

2,612,726

+3,770

NB. The above figures, taken from the ONSPD, include ‘live’ and terminated postcodes.

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Table 2

Numbers of Postcodes, Postcode Sectors and Postcode Districts

Postcode Area

Post

code

Area

Code

Postcode

Districts

Post

code

Sectors

Postcodes

Live

Terminated

Total

Aberdeen

AB

40

179

16,961

21,596

38,557

St Albans

AL

10

39

7,737

3,498

11,235

Birmingham

B

79

268

41,615

18,968

60,583

Bath

BA

19

81

15,020

4,623

19,643

Blackburn

BB

15

79

13,142

5,488

18,630

Bradford

BD

27

112

16,987

6,133

23,120

Bournemouth

BH

26

103

15,180

6,771

21,951

Bolton

BL

12

53

10,319

3,481

13,800

Brighton

BN

38

146

22,052

12,454

34,506

Bromley

BR

9

39

6,890

3,589

10,479

Bristol

BS

47

205

26,653

18,150

44,803

Belfast

BT

82

278

48,971

12,194

61,165

Carlisle

CA

30

85

12,553

3,483

16,036

Cambridge

CB

16

85

10,370

8,491

18,861

Cardiff

CF

46

203

23,264

18,716

41,980

Chester

CH

37

213

18,735

5,230

23,965

Chelmsford

CM

28

104

17,670

9,086

26,756

Colchester

CO

16

75

13,053

4,628

17,681

Croydon

CR

11

66

8,006

6,422

14,428

Canterbury

CT

22

83

14,779

4,699

19,478

Coventry

CV

24

106

20,074

7,585

27,659

Crewe

CW

13

52

9,411

4,300

13,711

Dartford

DA

18

59

8,992

3,632

12,624

Dundee

DD

11

52

8,924

2,257

11,181

Derby

DE

25

129

17,006

12,613

29,619

Dumfries

DG

15

42

6,819

863

7,682

Durham

DH

12

47

8,927

2,405

11,332

Darlington

DL

18

68

13,253

3,262

16,515

Doncaster

DN

33

117

21,548

5,931

27,479

Dorchester

DT

11

39

7,790

1,873

9,663

Dudley

DY

14

59

10,989

3,341

14,330

London E

E

22

108

16,395

11,289

27,684

London EC

EC

30

140

3,887

8,578

12,465

Edinburgh

EH

57

168

24,264

7,593

31,857

Enfield

EN

12

48

8,528

4,359

12,887

Exeter

EX

33

130

22,138

6,037

28,175

Falkirk

FK

21

49

7,699

1,825

9,524

Blackpool

FY

9

42

7,252

2,681

9,933

Glasgow

G

57

241

31,641

14,644

46,285

Gloucester

GL

27

118

20,860

7,311

28,171

Guildford

GU

40

145

22,056

12,986

35,042

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Postcode Area

Post

code

Area

Code

Postcode

Districts

Post

code

Sectors

Postcodes

Live

Terminated

Total

Harrow

HA

10

58

10,291

6,967

17,258

Huddersfield

HD

9

42

7,096

3,532

10,628

Harrogate

HG

5

25

4,395

1,851

6,246

Hemel Hempstead

HP

24

80

13,870

7,560

21,430

Hereford

HR

9

33

6,336

1,476

7,812

Hebrides

HS

9

11

964

118

1,082

Hull

HU

21

70

10,891

4,170

15,061

Halifax

HX

7

32

5,655

1,662

7,317

Ilford

IG

11

35

5,929

3,927

9,856

Ipswich

IP

34

115

20,882

5,634

26,516

Inverness

IV

53

85

7,271

3,313

10,584

Kilmarnock

KA

30

87

11,586

2,433

14,019

Kingston upon Thames

KT

24

92

14,260

7,836

22,096

Kirkwall

KW

16

22

1,824

266

2,090

Kirkcaldy

KY

17

75

10,044

2,967

13,011

Liverpool

L

66

582

20,472

22,398

42,870

Lancaster

LA

23

66

11,798

2,764

14,562

Llandrindod Wells

LD

8

16

2,211

421

2,632

Leicester

LE

28

152

22,188

11,857

34,045

Llandudno

LL

67

150

20,118

4,040

24,158

Lincoln

LN

13

49

9,097

2,679

11,776

Leeds

LS

32

150

21,503

9,887

31,390

Luton

LU

8

36

6,199

3,996

10,195

Manchester

M

48

302

31,632

26,397

58,029

Medway

ME

21

83

16,203

5,482

21,685

Milton Keynes

MK

28

114

15,265

7,054

22,319

Motherwell

ML

12

55

9,597

1,991

11,588

London N

N

25

113

17,608

11,265

28,873

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE

67

230

33,088

11,464

44,552

Nottingham

NG

32

167

28,706

8,058

36,764

Northampton

NN

20

101

16,268

8,231

24,499

Newport

NP

25

142

13,661

16,555

30,216

Norwich

NR

36

114

23,274

4,604

27,878

London NW

NW

13

83

14,220

10,932

25,152

Oldham

OL

17

70

13,038

4,496

17,534

Oxford

OX

28

146

19,473

14,767

34,240

Paisley

PA

78

116

9,300

3,503

12,803

Peterborough

PE

39

162

26,296

12,163

38,459

Perth

PH

43

61

6,050

1,250

7,300

Plymouth

PL

36

99

17,406

4,708

22,114

Portsmouth

PO

34

131

23,998

8,409

32,407

Preston

PR

13

83

12,940

6,678

19,618

Reading

RG

35

184

22,989

22,127

45,116

Redhill

RH

21

90

15,961

7,775

23,736

Romford

RM

21

71

9,836

5,109

14,945

Sheffield

S

55

249

33,350

15,198

48,548

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Postcode Area

Post

code

Area

Code

Postcode

Districts

Post

code

Sectors

Postcodes

Live

Terminated

Total

Swansea

SA

53

153

23,148

5,901

29,049

London SE

SE

30

130

20,569

12,980

33,549

Stevenage

SG

19

65

11,776

4,818

16,594

Stockport

SK

19

113

16,393

8,303

24,696

Slough

SL

12

58

10,721

5,764

16,485

Sutton

SM

7

29

4,362

2,188

6,550

Swindon

SN

23

113

14,356

6,692

21,048

Southampton

SO

31

181

18,237

21,397

39,634

Salisbury

SP

11

47

8,505

2,641

11,146

Sunderland

SR

11

43

6,553

2,003

8,556

Southend-on-Sea

SS

19

81

11,816

5,232

17,048

Stoke-on-Trent

ST

22

90

17,541

4,813

22,354

London SW

SW

29

141

20,402

15,581

35,983

Shrewsbury

SY

26

86

14,322

2,700

17,022

Taunton

TA

24

67

11,611

2,881

14,492

Galashiels

TD

15

36

4,464

722

5,186

Telford

TF

13

43

6,921

2,160

9,081

Tonbridge

TN

40

128

22,535

9,547

32,082

Torquay

TQ

14

50

9,940

3,067

13,007

Truro

TR

28

68

11,938

3,100

15,038

Cleveland

TS

30

103

17,359

5,304

22,663

Twickenham

TW

20

80

11,148

8,689

19,837

Southall

UB

12

41

7,097

4,267

11,364

London W

W

35

217

19,045

20,652

39,697

Warrington

WA

18

97

18,078

7,222

25,300

London WC

WC

15

46

2,709

4,684

7,393

Watford

WD

14

70

7,321

8,433

15,754

Wakefield

WF

18

75

14,293

3,708

18,001

Wigan

WN

8

35

7,095

1,936

9,031

Worcester

WR

17

50

8,603

3,677

12,280

Walsall

WS

15

67

10,023

4,669

14,692

Wolverhampton

WV

18

62

10,454

3,685

14,139

York

YO

37

161

18,384

15,450

33,834

Shetland

ZE

3

4

648

95

743

United Kingdom

121

3,089

12,314

1,751,816

847,996

2,599,812

Guernsey

GY

10

16

3,339

30

3,369

Isle of Man

IM

11

53

4,700

1,317

6,017

Jersey

JE

5

29

3,237

290

3,527

Channel Islands/ Isle

of Man

3

26

98

11,276

1,637

12,913

Total

124

3,115

12,412

1,763,092

849,633

2,612,725

NB. The postcode directory also contains the Santander UK plc postcode GIR 0AA, giving a total of 2,612,726

unit postcodes.

NSPL User Guide

May 2018

Office for National Statistics

23

Table 3

Numbers of Postcodes With A Grid Reference

England

Wales

Scotland

PQI

Large user

Small user

Large user

Small user

Large user

Small user

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

1

387,258

61.5%

1,490,893

96.3%

14,688

54.3%

92,792

83.4%

22,834

55.5%

163,772

90.2%

2

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

290

0.2%

3

811

0.1%

2,379

0.2%

23

0.1%

115

0.1%

68

0.2%

479

0.3%

4

39

0.0%

105

0.0%

2

0.0%

15

0.0%

7

0.0%

5

0.0%

5

39,331

6.2%

4,806

0.3%

1,615

6.0%

195

0.2%

2,431

5.9%

687

0.4%

6

65,659

10.4%

129

0.0%

2,219

8.2%

3

0.0%

4,182

10.2%

15

0.0%

8

130,645

20.7%

49,106

3.2%

7,874

29.1%

18,194

16.3%

11,264

27.4%

16,401

9.0%

9

6,096

1.0%

170

0.0%

653

2.4%

2

0.0%

388

0.9%

8

0.0%

Blank

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

Total

629,839

100%

1,547,588

100%

27,074

100%

111,316

100%

41,174

100%

181,657

100%

Great Britain

Northern Ireland

United Kingdom

PQI

Large user

Small user

Large user

Small user

Large user

Small user

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

1

424,780

60.8%

1,747,457

94.9%

1,382

14.8%

46,776

90.2%

426,162

60.2%

1,794,233

94.8%

2

0

0.0%

290

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

290

0.0%

3

902

0.1%

2,973

0.2%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

902

0.1%

2,973

0.2%

4

48

0.0%

125

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

48

0.0%

125

0.0%

5

43,377

6.2%

5,688

0.3%

3,283

35.2%

1,766

3.4%

46,660

6.6%

7,454

0.4%

6

72,060

10.3%

147

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

72,060

10.2%

147

0.0%

8

149,783

21.5%

83,701

4.5%

2,778

29.8%

2,865

5.5%

152,561

21.6%

86,566

4.6%

9

7,137

1.0%

180

0.0%

1,876

20.1%

439

0.8%

9,013

1.3%

619

0.0%

Blank

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

Total

698,087

100%

1,840,561

100%

9,319

100%

51,846

100%

707,406

100%

1,892,407

100%

NSPL User Guide

May 2018

Office for National Statistics

24

Table 3 (cont’d)

Numbers of Postcodes With A Grid Reference (cont'd)

Channel Islands

Isle of Man

All

PQI

Large user

Small user

Large user

Small user

Large user

Small user

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

1

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

426,162

59.9%

1,794,233

94.4%

2

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

0

0.0%

290

0.0%

3

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

902

0.1%

2,973

0.2%

4

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

48

0.0%

125

0.0%

5

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

46,660

6.6%

7,454

0.4%

6

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

72,060

10.1%

147

0.0%

8

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

152,561

21.5%

86,566

4.6%

9

2,027

100.0%

4,869

100.0%

1,626

100.0%

4,391

100.0%

12,666

1.8%

9,879

0.5%

Blank

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

Total

2,027

100%

4,869

100%

1,626

100%

4,391

100%

711,059

100%

1,901,667

100%

NB. The above figures, taken from the ONSPD, include ‘live’ and terminated postcodes.

NSPL User Guide

May 2018

Office for National Statistics

25

Table 4

Numbers of Termina ted Postcodes

Country

Number

England

723,309

Wales

47,089

Scotland

65,404

Great Britain

835,802

Northern Ireland

12,194

United Kingdom

847,996

Channel Islands

320

Isle of Man

1,317

All

849,633

NSPL User Guide

May 2018

Office for National Statistics

26

Annex A

NSPL Record Specification

Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

7

Unit postcode – 7

character version

AB11AA-ZE999ZZ

(maximum range)

All current (‘live’) postcodes within the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle

of Man, received monthly from Royal Mail.

Also, all terminated (‘closed’) postcodes that have not been subsequently re-used by

Royal Mail within the United Kingdom and by the postal administrations in the Channel

Islands and the Isle of Man.

2, 3 or 4 character outward code - left aligned;

3 character inward code - right aligned;

3rd and 4th characters may be blank ()

PCD

8

Unit postcode – 8

character version

AB11AA-ZE999ZZ

(maximum range)

As above, except:

2, 3 or 4-character outward code - left aligned;

3-character inward code - right aligned;

5th character always blank and 3rd and 4th characters may be blank ()

PCD2

8

Unit postcode -

variable length (e-

Gif) version

AB11AA-ZE999ZZ

(maximum range)

2, 3 or 4-character outward code;

Single space ();

3-character inward code

PCDS

6

Date of

introduction

YYYYMM

(year and month)

The most recent occurrence of the postcode’s date of introduction.

DOINTR

6

Date of

termination

YYYYMM

(year and month)

or null

If present, the most recent occurrence of the postcode’s date of termination, otherwise:

null = ‘live’ postcode

DOTERM

1

Postcode user

type

0 or 1

Shows whether the postcode is a small or large user.

0 = small user;

1 = large user

USERTYPE

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May 2018

Office for National Statistics

27

Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

6

National grid

reference -

Easting

numeric or null

The OS grid reference Easting to 1 metre resolution; blank for postcodes in the Channel

Islands and the Isle of Man. Grid references for postcodes in Northern Ireland relate to

the Irish National Grid.

OSEAST1M

7

National grid

reference -

Northing

numeric or null

The OS grid reference Northing to 1 metre resolution; blank for postcodes in the

Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Grid references for postcodes in Northern Ireland

relate to the Irish National Grid.

OSNRTH1M

1

Grid reference

positional quality

indicator

1-6, 8-9

Shows the status of the assigned grid reference.

1 = within the building of the matched address closest to the postcode mean;

2 = as for status value 1, except by visual inspection of Landline maps (Scotland only);

3 = approximate to within 50 metres;

4 = postcode unit mean (mean of matched addresses with the same postcode, but not

snapped to a building);

5 = imputed by ONS, by reference to surrounding postcode grid references;

6 = postcode sector mean, (mainly PO Boxes);

8 = postcode terminated prior to Gridlink® initiative, last known ONS postcode grid

reference2;

9 = no grid reference available

OSGRDIND

2 Postcodes with an ‘8’ code are those that were terminated prior to the Gridlink initiative which became operational in November 2000. The grid references are those

assigned by ONS for postcodes in England and Wales and those assigned by the General Register Office for Scotland and the Department for Economic Development in

Northern Ireland for their respective postcodes. Consequently, the grid references for England and Wales will be mainly to 100 metre resolution while the grid references

for other parts of the UK will be to 10 metre resolution.

Postcodes terminated since November 2000 retain the same positional quality indicators as they had prior to their termination.

NSPL User Guide

May 2018

Office for National Statistics

28

Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

2011 Census

Output Area (OA)/

Small Area (SA)

E00, W00, S00, N00,

pseudo or null

The 2011 Census OAs in GB and SAs in Northern Ireland were based on 2001 Census

OAs, and they form the building bricks for defining higher level geographies. Pseudo

codes are included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank

for postcodes with no grid reference.

E00000001 - E00176774 = England;

W00000001 - W00010265 = Wales;

S00088956 – S00135306 = Scotland;

N00000001 – N00004537 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

OA11

9

County

E10, pseudo or null

The current county to which the postcode has been assigned. Pseudo codes are

included for English UAs, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of

Man. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E10000002 - E10000034 = England;

E99999999 (pseudo) = England (UA/MD/LB);

W99999999 (pseudo) = Wales;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

CTY

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May 2018

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29

Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

County Electoral

Division

E58, pseudo or null

The county electoral division code for each English postcode. Pseudo codes are included

for the remainder of the UK. The field will be blank for English postcodes with no OA

code.

E58000001 – E58001720 = England;

E99999999 (pseudo) = England;

W99999999 (pseudo) = Wales;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

CED

9

Local Authority

District

(LAD)/unitary

authority (UA)/

metropolitan

district (MD)/

London borough

(LB)/ council area

(CA)/district

council area

(DCA)

E06, E07, E08, E09,

W06, S12, N09, pseudo

or null

The current district/UA to which the postcode has been assigned. Pseudo codes are

included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for

postcodes with no OA code.

E06000001 - E06000057 = England (UA);

E07000004 - E07000243 = England (LAD);

E08000001 - E08000037 = England (MD);

E09000001 - E09000033 = England (LB);

W06000001 - W06000024 = Wales (UA);

S12000005 - S12000046 = Scotland (CA);

N09000001 - N09000011 = Northern Ireland (DCA);

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

LAUA

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May 2018

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30

Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

(Electoral)

ward/division

E05, W05, S13, N08,

pseudo or null

The current administrative/electoral area to which the postcode has been assigned.

Pseudo codes are included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise

be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E05000026 – E05011094 = England;

W05000041 – W05001038 = Wales;

S13002516 – S13003127 = Scotland;

N08000101 – N08001140 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

WARD

9

Former Strategic

Health Authority

(SHA)/ Local

Health Board

(LHB)/ Health

Board (HB)/

Health Authority

(HA)/ Health &

Social Care Board

(HSCB)

E18, W11, S08, ZB001,

L00, M00 or null

The health area code for the postcode. SHAs were abolished in England in 2013 but the

codes remain as a ‘frozen’ geography. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes

with no OA code.

E18000001 - E18000010 = England (SHA);

W11000023 - W11000029 = Wales (LHB);

S08000015 - S08000028 = Scotland (HB);

ZB001 = Northern Ireland (HSCB);

L00000001 - L00000003 = Channel Islands (HA);

M00000001 = Isle of Man (HA);

null = no information available

HLTHAU

9

NHS England

(Region) (NHS ER)

E40, pseudo or null

The NHS ER code for the postcode. Pseudo codes are included for Wales, Scotland,

Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will be blank for postcodes

in England with no grid reference.

E4000001 – E40000006 = England;

W99999999 (pseudo) = Wales;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

NHSER

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May 2018

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Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

Country

E92, W92, S92, N92,

L93 or M83

The code for the appropriate country (i.e. one of the four constituent countries of the UK

or Crown dependencies - the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man) to which each postcode

is assigned.

E92000001 = England;

W92000004 = Wales;

S92000003 = Scotland;

N92000002 = Northern Ireland;

L93000001 = Channel Islands;

M83000003 = Isle of Man

CTRY

9

Region

(former GOR)

E12, pseudo or null

The region code for each postcode. Pseudo codes are included for Wales, Scotland,

Northern Ireland, Channel Island and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for

postcodes with no OA code.

E12000001 - E12000009 = England;

W99999999 (pseudo) = Wales;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

RGN

9

Westminster

parliamentary

constituency

E14, W07, S14, N06,

pseudo or null

The Westminster parliamentary constituency code for each postcode. Pseudo codes are

included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for

postcodes with no OA code.

E14000530 - E14001062 = England;

W07000041 - W07000080 = Wales;

S14000001 - S14000059 = Scotland;

N06000001 – N06000018 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

PCON

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May 2018

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32

Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

European

Electoral Region

(EER)

E15, W08, S15, N07,

pseudo or null

The European Electoral Region code for each postcode. A pseudo code is included for

Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no

OA code.

E15000001 - E15000009 = England;

W08000001 = Wales;

S15000001 = Scotland;

N07000001 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

EER

9

Local Learning

and Skills Council

(LLSC)/ Dept. of

Children,

Education,

Lifelong Learning

and Skills

(DCELLS)/

Enterprise Region

(ER)

E24, W16, S09, pseudo

or null

The LLSC (England), DCELLS (Wales) or ER (Scotland) code for each postcode. Pseudo

codes are included for Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will

otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E24000001 - E24000047 = England (LLSC);

W16000001 - W16000004 = Wales (DCELLS);

S09000001 - S09000006 = Scotland (ER);

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

TECLEC

9

Travel to Work

Area

(TTWA)

E30, W22, S22, K01,

N12, pseudo or null

The TTWA code for the postcode. Pseudo codes are included for Channel Islands and

Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E30000004 - E30000294 = England;

W22000003 - W22000034 = Wales;

S22000005 - S22000083 = Scotland;

K01000009 - K01000014 = cross-border;

N12000001 – N12000010 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

TTWA

NSPL User Guide

May 2018

Office for National Statistics

33

Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

Primary Care Trust

(PCT)/ Care Trust/

Care Trust Plus

(CT)/ Local Health

Board (LHB)/

Community

Health

Partnership

(CHP)/ Local

Commissioning

Group (LCG)/

Primary

Healthcare

Directorate (PHD)

E16, E17, W11, S03,

ZC010– ZC050, M01,

pseudo or null

The code for the PCT/CT areas in England, LHBs in Wales, CHPs in Scotland, LCG in

Northern Ireland and PHD in the Isle of Man. A pseudo code is included for Channel

Islands. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E16000001 - E16000151 = England (PCT);

E17000001 - E17000006 = England (CT);

W11000023 - W11000029 = Wales (LHB);

S03000001 - S03000044 = Scotland (CHP);

ZC010 - ZC050 = Northern Ireland (LCG);

M01000001 = Isle of Man (PHD);

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

null = no information available

PCT

10

LAU2 area

E05, W05, S31, UKN,

pseudo or null

The national LAU2-equivalent code for each postcode. Pseudo codes are included for

Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no

grid reference.

E05000026 – E05011094 = England;

W05000041 – W05001038 = Wales;

S31000001 – S31001229 = Scotland;

UKN0100001 - UKN0507021 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

NUTS

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May 2018

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Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

National park

E26, W18, W31, S21,

pseudo or null

The National parks cover parts of England, Wales and Scotland. Pseudo codes are

included for Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise

be blank for postcodes with no grid reference.

E26000001 - E26000012 = England;

E99999999 (pseudo) = England (non-National Park);

W18000001 - W18000003 = Wales;

W31000001 = Wales (non-National Park);

S21000002 - S21000003 = Scotland;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland (non-National Park);

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

PARK

9

2011 Census

Lower Layer Super

Output Area

(LSOA)/ Data

Zone (DZ)/ SOA

E01, W01, S01,

95AA01S1– 95ZZ16S2,

pseudo or null

The 2011 Census LSOA code for England and Wales, SOA code for Northern Ireland and

DZ code for Scotland. Pseudo codes are included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code. N.B. NI SOAs remain

unchanged from 2001.

E01000001 - E01033768 = England;

W01000001 - W01001958 = Wales;

S01006506 - S01013481 = Scotland;

95AA01S1 - 95ZZ16S2 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

LSOA11

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Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

Middle Layer

Super Output

Area (MSOA)/

Intermediate

Zone (IZ)

E02, W02, S02, pseudo

or null

The 2011 Census MSOA code for England and Wales and IZ code for Scotland. Pseudo

codes are included for Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will

otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E02000001 - E02006934 = England;

W02000001 - W02000423 = Wales;

S02001236 - S02002514 = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

MSOA11

9

2011 Census

Workplace Zone

E33, W35, S34, N19,

pseudo or null

The UK WZ code. Pseudo codes are included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The

field will be blank for UK postcodes with no grid reference.

E33000001 – E33050868 = England;

W35000001 – W35002710 = Wales;

S34000001 – S34005375 = Scotland;

N19000001 – N19001756 = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

WZ11

9

Clinical

Commissioning

Group (CCG)/

Local Health

Board (LHB)/

Community

Health

Partnership

(CHP)/ Local

Commissioning

Group (LCG)/

Primary

Healthcare

Directorate (PHD)

E38, W11, S03, ZC010–

ZC050, M01, pseudo or

null

The code for the CCG areas in England, LHBs in Wales, CHPs in Scotland, LCG in

Northern Ireland and PHD in the Isle of Man. A pseudo code is included for Channel

Islands. The field will be blank for postcodes in England or Wales with no OA code.

E38000001-E38000228 = England (CCG);

W11000023-W11000029 = Wales (LHB);

S03000001-S03000044 = Scotland (CHP);

ZC010-ZC050 = Northern Ireland (LCG);

M01000001 = Isle of Man (PHD);

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

null = no information available

CCG

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Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

Built-up Area

(BUA)

E34, W37, K05, pseudo

or null

The code for the BUAs in England and Wales. Pseudo codes are included for those OAs

not classed as ‘built-up’ and cross-border codes are included for areas straddling the

English/Welsh border. Pseudo codes are also included for Scotland, Northern Ireland,

Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no

OA code.

E34000001-E34005057 = England;

E34999999 (pseudo) = England (not covered);

W37000001-W37000427 = Wales;

W37999999 (pseudo) = Wales (not covered);

K05000001-K05000011 = cross-border;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

BUA11

9

Built-up Area

Sub-division

(BUASD)

E35, W38, K06, pseudo

or null

The code for the BUASDs in England and Wales. Pseudo codes are included for those

OAs not classed as ‘built-up’ and cross-border codes are included for areas straddling

the English/Welsh border. Pseudo codes are also included for Scotland, Northern

Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes

with no OA code.

E35000001-E35001670 = England;

E35999999 (pseudo) = England (not covered);

W38000001-W38000153 = Wales;

W38999999 (pseudo) = Wales (not covered);

K06000001-K06000004 = cross-border;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

BUASD11

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Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

2

2011 Census

rural-urban

classification

A1-F2, 1-8, pseudo or

null

The 2011 Census rural-urban classification of OAs for England and Wales, Scotland and

Northern Ireland. A pseudo code is included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The

field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

A1-F2 = England and Wales:

1-8 = Scotland;

null = Northern Ireland;

Z9 (pseudo) = Channel Islands/Isle of Man;

null = no information available

RU11IND

3

2011 Census

Output Area

classification

(OAC)

1A1-8B3, pseudo or

null

The 2011 Census OAC code for each postcode in the UK. A pseudo code is included for

Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no

OA code.

1A1 – 8B3 = UK;

9Z9 (pseudo) = Channel Islands/Isle of Man;

null = no information available

OAC11

10

Decimal degrees

latitude

Numeric

The postcode coordinates in degrees latitude to six decimal places; 99.999999 for

postcodes in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and for postcodes with no grid

reference.

LAT

10

Decimal degrees

longitude

Numeric

The postcode coordinates in degrees longitude to six decimal places; 0.000000 for

postcodes in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and for postcodes with no grid

reference.

LONG

9

Local Enterprise

Partnership (LEP) -

first instance

E37, pseudo or null

The primary LEP code for each English postcode. Pseudo codes are included for the rest

of the UK. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E37000001 – E37000042 = England;

W99999999 (pseudo) = Wales;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

LEP1

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Length

Data description

Range of codes/

Entity code

Comments

Field name

9

Local Enterprise

Partnership (LEP)

– second instance

E37, pseudo or null

Where LEPs overlap, the secondary code for each affected English postcode. Pseudo

codes are included for the rest of the UK. The field will otherwise be blank for postcodes

with no OA code.

E37000001 – E37000042 = England;

W99999999 (pseudo) = Wales;

S99999999 (pseudo) = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

LEP2

9

Police Force Area

(PFA)

E23, W15, S23, pseudo

or null

The PFA code for each postcode. A single PFA covers each of Scotland and Northern

Ireland (not coded). A pseudo code is included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man. The

field will otherwise be blank for postcodes with no OA code.

E23000001 – E23000039 = England;

W15000001 – W15000004 = Wales;

S23000009 = Scotland;

N99999999 (pseudo) = Northern Ireland;

L99999999 (pseudo) = Channel Islands;

M99999999 (pseudo) = Isle of Man;

null = no information available

PFA

5

Index of Multiple

Deprivation (IMD)

Numeric

The IMD rank for the LSOA of each postcode, where 1 is the most deprived. A zero is

included for Channel Islands and Isle of Man, also for postcodes with no OA code.

1 – 32844 = England;

1 – 1909 = Wales;

1 – 6976 = Scotland;

1 – 890 = Northern Ireland;

0 = Channel Islands;

0 = Isle of Man;

0 = no information available

IMD

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Annex B

Data Format

Available for free download in ASCII text and Comma Separated Variable format from the Open Geography

Portal.

File name: NSPL_mmm_yyyy

Where ‘mmm’ = month e.g. ‘NOV’

Where ‘yyyy’ = year e.g. ‘2016’

Format: Comma Separated Variable

File type: .csv

Record length: 289

Format: ASCII

File type: .txt

Record length: 289

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Annex C

2011 Census Very Small Population Wards and Their Assigned OA

Very Small

Population Ward

code

Very Small Population Ward

name

Assigned OA

City of London

E05009298

Cheap

E00000007

E05009299

Coleman Street

E00000019

E05009290

Bassishaw

E00000021

E05009293

Bread Street

E00000024

E05009297

Castle Baynard

E00000024

E05009289

Aldgate

E00000035

E05009291

Billingsgate

E00000035

E05009294

Bridge

E00000035

E05009306

Langbourn

E00000035

E05009295

Broad Street

E00166755

E05009296

Candlewick

E00166755

E05009301

Cornhill

E00166755

E05009307

Lime Street

E00166755

E05009300

Cordwainer

E00166757

E05009303

Dowgate

E00166757

E05009311

Vintry

E00166757

E05009312

Walbrook

E00166757

Isles of Scilly

E05008322

Bryher

E00096400