geolintr 1.0.0

Detect and resolve ONS geography boundary changes and vintage mismatches in UK data

geolintr

Stop silently joining datasets with mismatched ONS geography boundaries.

pip install geolintr

Requires Python 3.9+ · Zero dependencies · Built for UK government and NHS data work

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The problem

Every UK government dataset uses ONS geography codes. But those codes change — sometimes quietly and sometimes dramatically:

• CCGs became ICBs in July 2022 (106 areas became 42)
• LSOA and MSOA boundaries were redesigned after Census 2021
• Local authority districts merge and split regularly
• Terminated postcodes still appear in older datasets

When you join two datasets with codes from different years, the join silently succeeds but the results are wrong. geolintr catches this before it causes problems.

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Quick start

from geolintr import detect_vintages, format_report

# Check a list of codes from your dataset
codes = ["E38000240", "E38000244", "E54000028", "E54000029"]

warnings = detect_vintages(codes)
print(format_report(warnings))

Output:

============================================================
  geolintr report
============================================================
  2 error(s)  0 warning(s)  1 info(s)
============================================================

[ERROR] 2 CCG code(s) found (E38 prefix). CCGs were abolished on 1 July 2022 and replaced by ICBs (E54).
       Codes: E38000240, E38000244
       Tip:   Use geolintr.map_ccg_to_icb() to convert CCG codes to their ICB successors.

[ERROR] Both CCG (pre-2022) and ICB (post-2022) codes found. These represent different organisational boundaries.
       Codes: E38000240, E38000244, E54000028, E54000029
       Tip:   Standardise to ICB using geolintr.map_ccg_to_icb().

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Detect geography type

from geolintr import detect_geo_type

info = detect_geo_type("E38000240")
info.geo_type     # "CCG"
info.description  # "CCG (England) - deprecated 2022"
info.warnings     # ["E38000240 appears to be a CCG code. CCGs were replaced by ICBs in July 2022."]

info = detect_geo_type("E54000028")
info.geo_type     # "ICB"
info.is_known     # True

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Map CCG codes to ICB

from geolintr import map_ccg_to_icb

result = map_ccg_to_icb("E38000240")
result.found        # True
result.target_code  # "E54000029"
result.message      # "Mapped CCG E38000240 to ICB E54000029."

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Map any codes using a custom lookup

from geolintr import map_codes

# e.g. after a LAD merger
old_to_new = {
    "E07000187": "E06000066",  # Kettering -> North Northamptonshire
    "E07000188": "E06000066",  # Corby -> North Northamptonshire
}

results = map_codes(my_lad_codes, old_to_new, on_missing="warn")
for r in results:
    if not r.found:
        print(f"No mapping for {r.source_code}")

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Validate codes against a known set

from geolintr import validate_codes

valid_icbs = {"E54000028", "E54000029", "E54000030"}
result = validate_codes(my_codes, valid_icbs)

result["coverage"]      # 0.94 — 94% of codes matched
result["invalid"]       # list of unrecognised codes
result["invalid_count"] # how many failed

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What changed and when

from geolintr import boundary_changes_between

changes = boundary_changes_between(2021, 2023)
for c in changes:
    print(f"{c['year']}: {c['description']}")

# 2021: LAD restructure - several mergers in England
# 2022: CCGs abolished, replaced by ICBs
# 2023: LSOA/MSOA boundaries updated for Census 2021
# 2023: Further LAD restructure

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Supported geography types

Prefix	Type	Notes
E01/W01/N01	LSOA	Redesigned after Census 2021
E02/W02	MSOA	Redesigned after Census 2021
E06-E09/W06/S12/N09	LAD	Changes annually
E38	CCG	Abolished July 2022
E54	ICB	Replaced CCGs July 2022
E40	NHS England Region	Stable
E12	Region	Stable
E92/W92/S92/N92	Country	Stable

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Why geolintr

If you work with UK open data, you have almost certainly joined datasets with mismatched boundaries without realising. The results look plausible, but the numbers are wrong. geolintr makes this class of error visible and fixable.

Built by someone who does this every day at DHSC.

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License

MIT