OK - so we know that a rolled up Postcode Map of Doncaster in your loved ones stocking is probably not going to get you the warmest response this Christmas! But maps can be a great and affordable stocking filler - especially for the young explorer or people with special interests.

Here we look at this years top 10 bestselling maps and atlases which could find their way into homes this Christmas - courtesy of Amazon.

The documents linked to below detail the latest November 2015 Postcode changes and address statistics for reference.

Business & Vacant Organisations

This table shows the number of businesses and vacant organisations on the Royal Mail address database, the Postcode Address File (PAF®). The table compares the latest month's figures with those from the previous month, identifying the percentage variation between the months. Download >

PAF^® Delivery Point Changes

This document shows the number of delivery point additions, deletions and changes and the reasons for the change.
Download >

New Sectors & Localities

This table shows the sectors and localities applied to the Postcode Address File (PAF®) system this month.
Download >

Overall PAF Statistics and Changes

This table shows the total numbers of, and number of changes to, Postcodes, localities, Post Towns, delivery points and other PAF elements. Download >

Why Do Postcodes Change?

The Postcode system changes continually with around 1.25 million address changes in an average year. As a result, Royal Mail are forced to make changes to the Postcode system in order to maintain postal delivery efficiency.

For example, new housing developments or business parks in already densely populated areas can leave no free postcodes for Royal Mail to allocate. this can lead to the recoding of a wider area to create additional codes to allocate.

Postcode Changes For October 2015

The documents linked to below detail the latest Postcode changes and address statistics for reference.

Business & Vacant Organisations

This table shows the number of businesses and vacant organisations on the Royal Mail address database, the Postcode Address File (PAF®). The table compares the latest month's figures with those from the previous month, identifying the percentage variation between the months. > Download

PAF^® Delivery Point Changes

This document shows the number of delivery point additions, deletions and changes and the reasons for the change.
> Download

New Sectors & Localities

This table shows the sectors and localities applied to the Postcode Address File (PAF®) system this month.
> Download

Overall PAF Statistics and Changes

This table shows the total numbers of, and number of changes to, Postcodes, localities, Post Towns, delivery points and other PAF elements. > Download

To complement our range of Postcode Area maps, we have made available a range of Postcode and address lists in Excel format to help you with your Postcode planning.

We have three lists described below which can be used for common business tasks such as:

1. Checking and validating Postcodes
2. Cross reference Postcodes to local authorities and other geographies
3. Locating Postcodes in GIS and mapping software
4. Cleaning customer addresses to ensure accurate and successful mailings

There are three files available for immediate download:

Free Postcode Lists

Free lists of all currently valid Postcodes in the Postcode Areas of the UK. These lists are updated every 3 months and you will receive a notification to download the updated version completely free of charge!

Use For: Validating Postcodes or as a simple Postcode lookup list.

Postcode Lists With Lookup Locations

This list contains a wealth of information about the Postcodes in each Postcode Area. Not only does it contain all the Postcodes currently in use by Royal Mail but it contains every Postcode that ever existed including when the Postcode was retired.

Use For: Validating Postcodes, plotting Postcodes in mapping systems and identifying the parish, ward, local authority district that each Postcode belongs to.

The file provides the following information for each Postcode (where the information is available*):

• Postcode Sector
• Postcode District
• Postcode Area
• Built Up Area Sub Division
• Built Up Area
• Ward
• Parish
• Local Authority District
• Traditional County Name
• Region
• British National Grid Easting
• British National Grid Northing
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Date Postcode was introduced
• Date Postcode was retired/ terminated

* Fields can be blank in the data for a variety of reasons. The Postcode may be new and not have been cross-referenced to other geographies, agencies may not have supplied the information yet or the field my just not be relevant for that Postcode (not all areas are Parished for example).

This file is also updated every 3 months and updates are included in the annual subscription fee.

Postcode Lists With Addresses

A spread sheet of every residential and business postal address in the respective Postcode Area. The information is sourced directly from Royal Mail and updated every 3 months to ensure it is up to date and accurate.

Use For: Validating addresses and cleaning customer address records or as a simple address lookup list.

The spreadsheet contains the following address fields:

• UDPRN
• Organisation Name
• Department Name
• PO Box
• Building Name
• Sub-Building Name
• Building Number
• Thoroughfare
• Street
• Double Dependent Locality
• Dependent Locality
• Post Town
• Postcode
• Postcode Type
• DPS
• SU Organisation Flag

This file is also updated every 3 months and updates are included in the annual subscription fee.

To download your Postcode and address lists today, simply pick your Postcode Area from the full UK list >

Product Page: Postcode & Constituency lookup data

For a number of years, we have sourced Postcode and Parliamentary information for our customers and created authoritative lookup tables and lists that relate UK Postcode geography to the various political structures across the UK.

As a result of customer feedback and work we have done for specific clients over the past few months, we are excited to announce that the latest update provides more information than ever before and is now available in an easy to use Excel format! Continue reading to what this latest release of Postcodes & Constituencies now provides.

Every UK Postcode

The product still contains every UK Postcode that has ever existed - over 1.7 million Postcodes and over 700,000 'retired' Postcodes which are no longer in use by Royal Mail.

This means when you need to check Parliamentary information for a Postcode which is no longer in use, you can still determine the constituency it fell within and the current MP and party holding that seat.

 Westminster Constituencies

Every Postcode is linked to the current Westminster Parliamentary Constituency it falls within along with the Member of Parliament and Party that currently holds the seat. The current information is based upon the May 2015 General Election but accounts for any updates due to by-elections up to the point of the update.

Scottish Constituencies

For Postcodes in Scotland, we have always provided the name of the Scottish Constituency the Postcode falls within. In this latest release however, we have also included the name and party of the Scottish MP together with the name of the Scottish Parliament Region.

Each region is a group of constituencies, and the D'Hondt method of allocating additional member seats from party lists is used to produce a form of proportional representation for each region. Therefore, we also provide a separate sheet which provides the list of Scottish Regions and the elected Regional MSPs for each.

Welsh Assembly

For Postcodes in Wales, we have always provided the name of the Welsh Assembly the Postcode falls within. In this latest release however, we have also included the name and party of the Assembly Member together with the name of the Welsh Assembly Region. 

In addition, Assembly constituencies are grouped into electoral regions, and an additional member system is used to elect four additional Assembly Members (AMs) from each region, in addition to the AMs elected by the constituencies. Therefore, we also provide a separate sheet which provides the list of Welsh Assembly Regions and the elected AMs for each.

Northern Ireland MLAs

This sheet contains the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) names and parties for Northern Ireland. The constituencies for Northern Ireland are the same as the Westminster Constituencies.

The role of the MLAs is primarily to scrutinize and make decisions on the issues dealt with by Government Departments and to consider and make legislation. There are multiple MLA’s for each constituency and the sheet Northern Ireland MLAs contains a record for each MLA with the associated Party and Constituency name.

Excel & CSV Text Formats

Old versions of Excel (versions up to and including Excel 2003) were limited to only 65,536 rows of information and therefore trying to squeeze 2.5 million Postcode rows into Excel was effectively impossible. However, Excel 2007 and later versions allow over 1 million rows per worksheet which means we can now provide the Postcode & Constituency data across 3 sheets in a single Excel workbook (Note: you must have Excel version 2007 or later to be able to open the spread sheet).

Excel makes the data easier to use and search, in particular by using the Excel Data Form tool to search for Postcode records and also reduces the amount of space required to store the data.

Both CSV and Excel options of the data are available for the same licence fee and further details can be found on the Postcode & Parliamentary Data product page.