All applications should be made via UK LLC Apply, UK LLC’s online application service. Further information on the application process is available on Guidebook’s ‘How do I apply?’ page.

Yes, everyone accessing the UK LLC TRE must be based in the UK, and only access the TRE whilst in the UK.

You do not have to work at a university, but you cannot apply to access the TRE if you work for a commercial organisation. Your employer must be a non-commercial research organisation.

UK LLC welcomes applications from Master’s and PhD students provided that their supervisor is the main applicant. The supervisor must also access the UK LLC TRE so that they can actively supervise the student.

Applications to become an Accredited Researcher should be made via the ONS. To be a full accredited researcher, you must have an undergraduate degree (or higher), including a significant proportion of maths or statistics. Otherwise, you must be able to demonstrate at least three year’s quantitative research experience.

For an application to be successful, the proposed research must:

• be in the public good

• have an ethical assessment

• be approved by UK LLC’s partner LPS

• align with data owners’ specific terms and conditions.

A list of all projects approved to date is available on the Data Use Register.

Yes, as long as you’re using a work provided laptop/desktop – see below the user security requirements in the Data Access and Acceptable Use Policy.

All UK LLC users must:

• Only access the UK LLC TRE using organisation owned/approved machines, which are automatically maintained so that they are fully patched and up to date with relevant virus protection.

• Only access the UK LLC TRE from the UK and via a secure private or corporate network. Where using a private network, the user must make all reasonable efforts to ensure this is maintained and the equipment is secure (strong password) and kept patched and up to date.

If you are using a Mac and therefore using “Archive Utility” rather than 7-Zip, you could experience issues. Archive Utility doesn’t support the encryption 7zip uses. Therefore we suggest using a different extractor program called The Unarchiver.

UK LLC access is granted for the duration of your project - as stated in your original application - or until your ONS Accredited Researcher status expires. Please note that linked NHS England data can only be accessed for one year at a time. If you wish to extend access, this can be done by submitting an amendment via UK LLC Apply.

To extend access beyond the agreed project end date, please submit an amendment to the UK LLC Access team. Information on how to submit an amendment is here.

Yes, researchers can work with their approved project team simultaneously in the TRE. Each project is allocated a project folder, which is a shared area for storing all project-related workings.

As long as the other researcher(s) is named on your project and has got valid ONS Accredited Researcher status and has completed a Data User Responsibilities Agreement (DURA), then yes, it is OK to share your screen on a conference call so that you can discuss your analyses.

If you inadvertently delete or overwrite a file you can restore a previous version. To do this right click on the file/folder and choose ‘properties’ and then go to the ‘previous versions’ tab. Choose the version you want to restore.

You must submit an amendment to notify UK LLC of a change in employer. Details of how to submit an amendment are available here.

You must submit an amendment providing details of the new researcher so UK LLC can check whether they and their organisation meet UK LLC’s access requirements. Details of how to submit an amendment are available here.

You must notify UK LLC when a researcher leaves a project so their access to the TRE can be terminated. This can be done by submitting an amendment.

We advise using method A (one table at a time) or B (one LPS/data source at a time) for LPS-collected data. However, we advise using method A only for NHS data because of the size of some of the tables.

If you encounter a blank screen when launching RStudio, please refer to this guide to fix the issue: https://docs.hiru.swan.ac.uk/display/HDK/RStudio+not+loading

If logging into a fresh desktop, you have to launch Stata from the Windows start menu. It should then ‘deliver’ itself to your desktop and all Stata files should then associate themselves with Stata.

‘net’ downloads are blocked in the TRE because they require an internet connection. However, Stata package downloads via ssc have been whitelisted and are available. If what you need is not available via ssc you can request a file-in including the .do files using the file-in process.

Yes, R packages available on CRAN can be installed on SeRP desktops. CRAN is a whitelisted connection for all approved users.

Each project is allocated a unique individual/participant-level ID system in the form llc_####_stud_id. This ID identifies a participant within an LPS, therefore if a participant exists in more than one LPS their records will exist in the UK LLC twice against 2 different study IDs. Study ID is specific to each project and must not be shared with users outside the project. If a researcher is named on more than one project in the TRE, separate identifiers are attached to each set of datasets relative to each project. Therefore, datasets cannot be combined between projects.

Currently, participants who are in multiple LPS cannot be linked. However, this functionality has been factored into the design of the UK LLC TRE and will be implemented.

Output clearance can take 7-10 working days. We therefore recommend submitting outputs as early as possible and following the statisticial disclosure control (SDC) guidance to increase the likelihood of them passing first time.

No – due to the variability of statistical disclosure control (SDC) thresholds set by data providers, we are unable to be flexible.

Requests for new data should be submitted via an amendment to UK LLC. You may apply for additional data from already approved LPS, data from additional LPS, and/or additional linked data. N.B. each type of data amendment requires a different level of review before being approved.

All researchers must contact the Data Team at support@ukllc.ac.uk as soon as possible if they have any concerns that any of the datasets they have access to have NOT been reasonably de-identified or if there are any concerns about the quality of the data.