There is a growing collection of administrative datasets available for public good research that cover Scotland. This includes those gathered at UK level available through the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and those from Scottish data controllers like the Scottish Government (SG) and Public Health Scotland (PHS). Take a look at our data catalogues:
Browse the ADR UK Data Catalogue and the ONS Secure Research Service Metadata Catalogue to see UK datasets covering Scotland and their supporting information.
Discover datasets collected by Scottish Data Controllers on the Research Data Scotland metadata catalogue.
ADR Scotland - available datasets
The table below lists details of available datasets curated by ADR Scotland and readily available in the Scottish National Safe Haven, including links to metadata, supporting information and related resources. Researchers affiliated with approved organisations can apply to access these datasets for research in the public benefit.
Theme | Dataset name | Data controller | Subject | Years | Access | Supporting information |
| Children and young people | Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels | Scottish Government (SG) | All pupils in publicly funded Primary 1, Primary 4, Primary 7 and Secondary 3 classes, and for all pupils based in special schools/units. | 2016 -2022 (excluding 2019/20) | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | All Providers Qualifications- Scotland | Scottish Government | Students in the senior phase of school (S4 - S6) attending publicly funded mainstream schools and one grant-aided school, presenting for Scottish Qualifications Authority examinations as well as a number of other award providers. | 2008-2022 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | All SQA Qualifications | Scottish Government | Students in the senior phase of school (S4 - S6) attending publicly funded mainstream schools and one grant-aided school, presenting for Scottish Qualifications Authority examinations as well as a number of other award providers. | 2008-2022 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | Attendance and Absence | Scottish Government | Attendance, authorised and unauthorised absence and temporary exclusions of children attending publicly funded local authority schools and one grant-aided mainstream school in Scotland. | 2007-2022 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | Child Protection | Scottish Government | Children on the Child Protection Register of a Scottish Local Authority. | 2012 - 2019 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Housing and environment | 2010 EU Farm Structure Survey and rural payments data for Scotland | Scottish Government | The survey gathered information on the activities, labour and diversification activities of farm holdings across Scotland. | 2010 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | Exclusions | Scottish Government | The exclusions collection covers all publicly funded local authority school in Scotland. Prior to 2018/19 collection, exclusions information was collected for one grant-aided mainstream school. | 2007-2022 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Data Explained (Oct 2023) |
| Children and young people | Growing Up in Scotland | Scottish Government | Growing Up in Scotland is a longitudinal research study, tracking the lives of thousands of young people and their families from the early years, through childhood and as they move into adulthood. | 2005-2023 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Health, mental health and social care | Health and Care Experience Survey (HACE) | Public Health Scotland | The Scottish Health and Care Experience (HACE) Survey is a postal survey which is sent to a random sample of people who are registered with a General Practice in Scotland based on latest information available on an identified census date. | 2018-2024 | NHS Scotland Public Benefit and Privacy Panel for Health and Social Care, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | Looked After Children | Scottish Government | Children in care of a local authority in Scotland. | 2008-2019 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Data Explained (April 2023) |
| Children and young people | Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) | Scottish Government | A random sample of 15-year olds from a random sample of schools in Scotland. The sample is collected every three years. | 2012, 2015, 2018 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | Pupil Census | Scottish Government | Children attending publicly funded local authority and grant-aided schools in Scotland. | 2007-2022 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Children and young people | School Leaver Destinations and Attainment | Scottish Government | School leavers from all stages of publicly funded local authority secondary schools and one grant-aided mainstream school in Scotland. | 2009-2019 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
| Health, mental health and social care | Social Care (SOURCE) | Public Health Scotland | The dataset provides an extract on social care clients and the services they receive. The collection of social care data commenced in 2014 as the Health and Social Care Data Integration and Intelligence (HSCDIIP) dataset, this was later renamed to Source. | 2017-2025 | NHS Scotland Public Benefit and Privacy Panel for Health and Social Care, via eDRIS | Metadata Data Explained (Aug 2025) |
| Work, welfare and the economy | Service Leavers Database- Scotland | Ministry of Defence | A dataset provided by the Ministry of Defence containing records of UK armed forces leavers. | 1975-2023 | SG and NRS Data Access Panel, via eDRIS | Metadata |
