This dataset provides 2011 Census estimates that classify usual residents in households in England and Wales by long-term health problem, tenure, sex and by age. The estimates are as at census day, 27 March 2011.
Long-term illness is a strong predictor of higher use of health service resources. This information is used by central government for resource allocation and for local government service provision. It enables public bodies to meet statutory requirements and develop and monitor policies to allocate health funding and services at a national and local level. The statistics generated are used to develop and monitor equality policy. These policies relate especially to the delivery of health care, assessment of progress towards better population health, and the reduction of health inequalities. Statistics on disability are also useful for devising policies to improve access to services, such as adult education and leisure facilities. This information is used to plan services and target resources, and allows public authorities to assess and tackle discrimination.

In order to protect against disclosure of personal information from the 2011 Census, there has been swapping of records in the Census database between different geographic areas, and so some counts will be affected. In the main, the greatest effects will be at the lowest geographies, since the record swapping is targeted towards those households with unusual characteristics in small areas.

More details on the ONS Census disclosure control strategy may be found on the Statistical Disclosure Control page on the ONS web site.