ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. By linking together data held by different parts of government, and by facilitating safe and secure access for accredited researchers to these newly joined-up data sets, ADR UK is creating a sustainable body of knowledge about how our society and economy function – tailored to give decision makers the answers they need to solve important policy questions. ADR UK is made up of three national partnerships (ADR Scotland, ADR Wales, and ADR NI) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which ensures data provided by UK government bodies is accessed by researchers in a safe and secure form with minimal risk to data holders or the public. The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub, which also promotes the benefits of administrative data research to the public and the wider research community, engages with UK government to secure access to data, and manages a dedicated research budget. ADR UK is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. To find out more, visit adruk.org or follow @ADR_UK on Twitter. Scottish Government receives funding as part of ADR Scotland (Administrative Data Research Scotland), a partnership combining specialists in the Scottish Government’s Data Sharing and Linkage Unit with the expertise of academic researchers at the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research. Together they are transforming how public sector data in Scotland is curated, accessed and explored, so it can deliver its full potential for policymakers and for the public. ADR Scotland is linking administrative data sets and conducting research on a suite of critical issues in Scotland, from health and social care to lifelong wellbeing, and from poverty and fair work to building safer communities. The Scottish Government team brings proven experience in managing data-sharing and linkage projects, access to and understanding of policymakers in government, expertise in information governance and the application of the Digital Economy Act. It is committed to taking forward a programme of work to develop a new infrastructure to support administrative data research.

ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. By linking together data held by different parts of government, and by facilitating safe and secure access for accredited researchers to these newly joined-up data sets, ADR UK is creating a sustainable body of knowledge about how our society and economy function – tailored to give decision makers the answers they need to solve important policy questions. ADR UK is made up of three national partnerships (ADR Scotland, ADR Wales, and ADR NI) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which ensures data provided by UK government bodies is accessed by researchers in a safe and secure form with minimal risk to data holders or the public. The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub, which also promotes the benefits of administrative data research to the public and the wider research community, engages with UK government to secure access to data, and manages a dedicated research budget. ADR UK is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. To find out more, visit adruk.org or follow @ADR_UK on Twitter. Scottish Government receives funding as part of ADR Scotland (Administrative Data Research Scotland), a partnership combining specialists in the Scottish Government’s Data Sharing and Linkage Unit with the expertise of academic researchers at the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research. Together they are transforming how public sector data in Scotland is curated, accessed and explored, so it can deliver its full potential for policymakers and for the public. ADR Scotland is linking administrative data sets and conducting research on a suite of critical issues in Scotland, from health and social care to lifelong wellbeing, and from poverty and fair work to building safer communities. The Scottish Government team brings proven experience in managing data-sharing and linkage projects, access to and understanding of policymakers in government, expertise in information governance and the application of the Digital Economy Act. It is committed to taking forward a programme of work to develop a new infrastructure to support administrative data research.

ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. By linking together data held by different parts of government, and by facilitating safe and secure access for accredited researchers to these newly joined-up data sets, ADR UK is creating a sustainable body of knowledge about how our society and economy function – tailored to give decision makers the answers they need to solve important policy questions. ADR UK is made up of three national partnerships (ADR Scotland, ADR Wales, and ADR NI) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which ensures data provided by UK government bodies is accessed by researchers in a safe and secure form with minimal risk to data holders or the public. The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub, which also promotes the benefits of administrative data research to the public and the wider research community, engages with UK government to secure access to data, and manages a dedicated research budget. ADR UK is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. To find out more, visit adruk.org or follow @ADR_UK on Twitter. ADR Scotland is working to bring together a range of data on children. This will include: pupil census data for Scotland, Scottish Government data on looked after children, children’s health, births and deaths, the 2001/2011 national census, attendance, absence and exclusion from school, child protection, secure care for children, exam qualifications, school leaver destinations, and child wellbeing. The project aims to provide information about the data and enable access with the potential for it to be linked together.

ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. By linking together data held by different parts of government, and by facilitating safe and secure access for accredited researchers to these newly joined-up data sets, ADR UK is creating a sustainable body of knowledge about how our society and economy function – tailored to give decision makers the answers they need to solve important policy questions. ADR UK is made up of three national partnerships (ADR Scotland, ADR Wales, and ADR NI) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which ensures data provided by UK government bodies is accessed by researchers in a safe and secure form with minimal risk to data holders or the public. The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub, which also promotes the benefits of administrative data research to the public and the wider research community, engages with UK government to secure access to data, and manages a dedicated research budget. ADR UK is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. To find out more, visit adruk.org or follow @ADR_UK on Twitter. Scottish Government receives funding as part of ADR Scotland (Administrative Data Research Scotland), a partnership combining specialists in the Scottish Government’s Data Sharing and Linkage Unit with the expertise of academic researchers at the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research. Together they are transforming how public sector data in Scotland is curated, accessed and explored, so it can deliver its full potential for policymakers and for the public. ADR Scotland is linking administrative data sets and conducting research on a suite of critical issues in Scotland, from health and social care to lifelong wellbeing, and from poverty and fair work to building safer communities. The Scottish Government team brings proven experience in managing data-sharing and linkage projects, access to and understanding of policymakers in government, expertise in information governance and the application of the Digital Economy Act. It is committed to taking forward a programme of work to develop a new infrastructure to support administrative data research.

The Gaelic language has acquired growing prominence in Scotland in recent decades, but there is very little evidence on public attitudes to the language, especially those of the anglophone majority. The purpose of the funding sought is to fill this gap in evidence with an academically rigorous survey source: the proposed research would insert a module of questions on attitudes to Gaelic in the annual Scottish Social Attitudes Survey of 2012, measuring views about such topics as the use of Gaelic in public areas, the place of Gaelic in education, the use of Gaelic in broadcasting, the place of Gaelic in regional, Scottish and British identities, and the future of Gaelic. The policy importance of this evidence is signalled by the financial contribution which the Scottish Government and Bord na Gaidhlig (the statutory body responsible for promoting the use of Gaelic) are making to the costs of the survey.The applicants would then use the data generated to analyse the issues and report on them. Most of the funding for the analysis and dissemination phases is not being sought here, and will be carried out as part of the inter-university Gaelic research network Soillse (in the form of 25% of the time for one year of a Research Fellow who will work under the supervision of the Principal Applicant; for further details, see 'Academic Beneficiaries'.)The topics to be addressed in that analysis are explained in full in the Case for Support, and are in summary: Like all minority languages dependent on sources of public funding, Gaelic relies on the support - or at least the acquiescence - of the non-Gaelic-speaking majority. Its position is paradoxical in several respects. On the one hand, there seems to be a great deal of goodwill towards Gaelic; on the other, particular proposals to spend public money on Gaelic (eg in broadcasting or on bilingual signage) can generate intense controversy. Gaelic is often seen as an essential part of Scottish identity, and yet is spoken by only a small minority. It has received recent encouragement through legislation and funding from the Scottish Parliament, and yet was supported also by the Conservative government in the 1980s that was firmly opposed to devolution. Thus the purpose of the analysis is to develop a better understanding of where support lies, how deep it is, what aspects of Gaelic language policy lead to controversy, and how people view its place in Scottish culture. Debates about Gaelic are one instance of a world-wide growth of interest in minority languages, some of which have achieved state encouragement in recent decades. Academic views about the future of minority languages range from support for language rights to scepticism, the latter often based on the view that being able to speak a majority language is necessary for social opportunity. The further purpose of the analysis is thus to understand attitudes to Gaelic in this wider context. The most relevant research from other countries is on attitudes to Welsh and to Irish in both parts of Ireland, and this research will pay close attention to the methods and results of these studies, advised by an expert advisory group which will be set up under the auspices of Soillse.