The UK Data Service uses a three tier access policy to determine the most appropriate level of access for the data collection it publishes. The three tiers are:
The three tiers combine modes of access and conditions of use.
Safeguarded data are not deemed to fall into the category of having minimal to no disclosure risk, and are not personal data, according to the relevant legislation, e.g. Data Protection morocco rcs data Act 2018 and the Digital Economy Act 2017; subjects are always de-identified and the data anonymised. Any minimal risks are mitigated by robust safeguards placed around access to data, using the AAA framework, Authentication, authorization, and accounting, where access policies are enabled and enforced and usage is audited.
Signing up to the terms and conditions of the standard End User Licence (EUL) is the first safeguard put in place at the UK Data Service, a basic requirement for registering with the UK Data Service. Safeguarded data may then be directly downloaded by groups of researchers who are eligible.
Controlled data are data that can be defined as personal, but have been de-identified. To use Controlled, or ‘Secure Access’ data, access is governed by the use of the 5 Safes framework; researchers must be experienced in statistical analysis. complete an application that must be approved by the data owner, attend a safe researcher training course; and access data via a remote safe haven.