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A hybrid solution to the question of stability or redrawing has been offered by one or two people.  This hybrid is arrived at from a viewpoint that sees the merits of keeping Super Output Areas stable, but that is less sure about Output Areas.  I'd like to investigate this a bit.

I'll try and summarise the thinking behind the solution offered.  Apologies if I don't do it justice.  Corrections welcomed!

Apart from the 2001 Census, few data sources have been made available to ONS for publication at the OA level.  Outputs and data definitions for the next Census have yet to be defined.  It is possible that Census indicators of change at a level as small as OAs could be rendered invalid as a result of any changes to data definitions.  Given these points, OAs could be entirely redrawn within stable Lower Layer SOA (LSOA) boundaries and be based on Census 2011 data.  SOA time series data would therefore be safeguarded.

I can see the thinking here, and it could certainly be done.  But I wonder what the benefits of redrawing OAs within a straightjacket as tight as LSOA boundaries would be?  On average each LSOA only has 4 or 5 OAs nested within it.  We wouldn't be redrawing across these boundaries.  Would we merely be changing for changes sake and satisfying no-one, or are there some clear benefits here?

I also wonder whether OAs are being used for other purposes.  If so, these would be undermined by such a solution.  The OA Classification would certainly be affected.  Are there other uses of OAs that would be put at risk?