From the 2007 wave onwards, the General Household Survey (GHS) has been available only to Approved Researchers, under Special Licence access conditions. This is due to a change in methodology comprising a move to a longitudinal survey design; a process which commenced in 2005. While this will enable longitudinal analysis, it also means that more detailed data may be gathered from individual households, prompting the need for Special Licence access conditions. Further information about the longitudinal design may be found on the ESDS Government General Lifestyle Survey web page.

In addition, from January 2008, the GHS became known as the General Lifestyle Survey (GLF), a module of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS). For further information on the change to GLF, and Approved Researcher status, see the GLF Special Licence Access datasets page.