UK LLC’s templates to develop your own communications#
Last modified: 15 Sep 2026
Privacy notice template:#
For existing partner LPS and LPS joining the UK LLC#
A new way of working with longitudinal data is to combine data from many Longitudinal Population Studies (LPS) to allow researchers to look at more people across diverse population groups, occupations and other factors to improve health and wellbeing and service provision. To do this, many LPS need to put relevant data into a highly secure computing environment, known as either a Trusted Research Environment (TRE) or a Safe Data Haven (SDH) or a Secure Data Environment (SDE).
[Insert LPS name] is a partner with UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC), a Trusted Research Environment set up to bring data together for research in the public good.
Who is UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC)?
UK LLC is the national Trusted Research Environment (TRE) for data linkage in longitudinal research. It is run by the Universities of Bristol and Edinburgh, in collaboration with University College London (UCL), Swansea University, University of Leicester and City St George’s, University of London. UK LLC’s purpose is to bring together data about Longitudinal Population Study (LPS) participants that has been collected by their LPS or as part of their wider care and support and to link it to participants’ health and other data.
The University of Bristol is the Data Controller for UK LLC and SeRP UK at Swansea University is the contracted Data Processor to University of Bristol for UK LLC. SeRP UK is a leader in providing Trusted Research Environments in the UK and internationally.
How does this work?
[Insert LPS name] provides UK LLC with de-identified copies of selected data. This includes [List LPS data in UK LLC TRE]. We remain the owner and Data Controller and retain control of how the data is used in the UK LLC Trusted Research Environment. This makes sure the principles of [Insert LPS name] are upheld.
[Insert LPS name] provides a list of personal data (e.g. name, date of birth, address) to NHS Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW). They are an NHS Trusted Third Party, which means they have the official approvals in place to handle data in this way. They do not see your study data. They then facilitate linkages by sending your personal identifiers to linked data owners [and UK LLC’s place-based (e.g. air pollution, noise pollution) modellers for processing]. These organisations extract and send de-identified datasets to SeRP UK who bring them together with your survey datasets. They then deposit your de-identified data into the UK LLC TRE. Through this split process, NHS Digital Health and Care Wales can only see your personal identifiers and SeRP UK and UK LLC can only see de-identified data about you.
**Linked data owners:
[copy where applicable]**
NHS England
SAIL databank (NHS Wales data)
Public Health Scotland/eDRIS/National Records of Scotland in Scotland*
Office for National Statistics*
NHS Northern Ireland Business Development Organisation*
Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency*
not yet approved, no data has flowed
Place-based modellers:
[Copy if applicable:]
City St George’s, University of London and University of Leicester receive address data or postcode data only to link to the precise location of the property/postcode and then map information to the property, such as air pollution, noise data, services and the amount of green space around the property. They do not know which address relates to any person or their involvement in [Insert LPS name]. Randomly selected real UK addresses are added to the list to make sure nothing can be inferred from this process.
Where and how is [Insert LPS name] data stored at UK LLC?
[Insert LPS name] data is stored on secure servers at SeRP UK, which are controlled by the University of Bristol and physically located at Swansea University. The servers are managed to information security best practice standards (including ISO 27001) and are regularly audited by external experts in information security.
Can I find out if [Insert LPS name] data held in the UK LLC Trusted Research Environment has been approved for a research project?
UK LLC has a Data Use Register – where you can view all approved and declined applications, with project summaries that provide a list of the UK LLC partner Longitudinal Population Studies that have been approved as part of each project and the aims of the research project.
The UK Data Protection Act 2018 provides individuals with rights over how their data are used. UK LLC supports these rights. If you would like to find out more, read the full UK LLC privacy notice.
*Version 1.1 August 2026
Credit: UK LLC and Generation Scotland
Website templates:#
For LPS joining UK LLC#
The UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC):
[Insert LPS name] is a partner of UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration. It was created in 2020 as a research resource during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is run by teams based at the Universities of Bristol and Edinburgh, with IT experts from Swansea University, environmental science experts at the University of Leicester, the NHS and the Office for National Statistics. UK LLC involves members of the public across its governance who provide a supportive and influential role.
Linking data in this central way is good for science, as researchers can access linked data from many different UK population studies in one place. UK LLC have now received further funding from UK Research and Innovation, the Economic and Social Research Council and the Medical Research Council to continue to provide linked data for research.
Read the UK LLC information for study participants on their website.
What does UK LLC do?
UK LLC makes data available, within its Trusted Research Environment, for any public good research. Where participant agreement is in place, study data is linked with administrative data, such as health, education, employment, tax or benefits records.
It enhances researchers’ ability to address important issues that affect people’s health and wellbeing. For example, they can examine how health and mental health conditions affect care provision among different groups, identify factors that can be modified to reduce risk, and understand the social impact of childhood adversity on adult health.
This video gives an overview of how UK LLC works.
How does [Insert LPS name] share data with UK LLC?
[Insert LPS name] provide UK LLC with an anonymised copy of your data. To establish the linkage to health and wellbeing and other records we provide a list of your personal identifiers only (e.g. name, NHS ID, address) to UK LLC. Only a small number of staff from the Universities of Bristol and Swansea can access the linked data.
Data from the studies taking part is anonymised before going into the UK LLC Trusted Research Environment. The data available to researchers in the Trusted Research Environment does not identify any individual, as details such as name and address have been removed and other potentially identifiable information (such as job title) changed so it is less specific. Participants data never leaves the TRE, instead researchers receive outputs of their data analysis.
[In addition for health data, UK LLC links to data about the place where study participants live to provide further context for research, for example air pollution data or access to broadband, but does not share participants’ address or postcode information.]
The data is stored on secure servers controlled by the University of Bristol (who are the Data Controller), the servers are located and run by the University of Swansea (who are the Data Processor for the University of Bristol). [Insert LPS name] remains the Data Controller for your data. At all times, we will determine whose records should be used in UK LLC, which linkages can be established and which research teams can use your data and for which purposes. In this way, we make sure that all the principles of [Insert LPS name] are upheld.
The NHS will remove identifying personal information (such as your name) from your health records.
The NHS will transfer your pseudonymised health information to the UK Secure eResearch Platform, or SeRP. No identifiable information will leave the NHS.
Within the SeRP, your pseudonymised health information will be linked with your [Insert LPS name] questionnaire data. Any information that could be used to identify you will be removed.
Your de-identified linked data from [Insert LPS name] participants will be made available to approved researchers via the SeRP Trusted Research Environment (TRE).
Data in the TRE will not include the name, address, or date of birth, any real world ID numbers (like NHS ID), names of places where you live or work, or the names or IDs of hospitals or other service providers.
Researchers will never be able to identify you from your linked [Insert LPS name] and health record data.
Credit: Understanding Society
FAQs about UK LLC