Dear Colleagues,
DRAFT CENSUS (ENGLAND AND WALES) ORDER 2020
I am writing to inform you that the Census (England and Wales) Order 2020 was laid before Parliament on 2 March 2020. The Government proposes that, subject to Parliamentary approval, the twenty-second national census will take place on 21 March 2021.
The census provides information on the population, their characteristics, education, religion, ethnicity, working life and health. The Government relies on high quality data to make decisions which affect everyone in this country; to inform policy, to plan public services to meet the needs of today’s society. The Census is the most complete source of information about our population that we have, providing an essential foundation for planning by public services and businesses.
The 2021 Census will be the first to be predominantly online, making it easier for people to complete the form when and how they want. Help will be available for those who need it, including language support and paper forms. As part of the wider transformation programme of which the 2021 Census is part, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is exploring how data already held across government could be used to replace the need for a traditional census after 2021 and the ONS will make a recommendation in 2023 to Government on the future of the census.
The Census Act 1920 provides for a census to be taken in England and Wales subject to an Order in Council and Regulations completing their Parliamentary procedures. The Census Order sets the date for the census, the topics on which questions will be asked and who is responsible for answering census questions. The Census Regulations follow the Order and set out the detailed operation of the census and the specific wording of the questions to be asked. The Regulations will reflect the online respondent experience as well as those completing the form on paper.
The Census Order is an unusual statutory instrument, being subject to both negative and affirmative procedures. The Census Regulations are subject to the negative procedure once made.
Under the 1920 Act, the taking of a census in England and Wales is the responsibility of the independent UK Statistics Authority, and the ONS, its executive arm. The Census Order follows the detailed proposals of the ONS published in the December 2018 White Paper “Help Shape our Future: The 2021 Census of Population and Housing in England and Wales” and the Census (Return Particulars and Removal of Penalties) Act 2019 which ensures that new census questions on sexual orientation and gender identity, as proposed in the White Paper, will be voluntary.
The ONS set out in the White Paper the rationale and evidence informing its recommendations. It has not been possible to meet all requests for questions or specific response options for the next census. Colleagues may be aware particularly of campaigns for new tick boxes in the religion, ethnicity and national identity questions which have not been recommended by the ONS following a process of consultation and evidence gathering. The ONS will be encouraging the use of the write-in option for these questions, supported by search-as-you-type functionality in the digital form, to ensure everyone is able to identify as they wish in the 2021 Census. The overall approach is expected in many cases to give a better statistical product than ever before for communities.
The Census Order sets the date for the Census in England and Wales as Sunday 21 March 2021. The date for the census has been considered collectively across the three census offices in the UK. The statistical offices of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are working together to ensure that together the censuses provide an accurate count and detailed picture of the United Kingdom population.
The 2021 Census provides an opportunity to build a detailed and comprehensive picture of the nation. I hope that colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation. An opportunity to discuss its provisions will be made open to all colleagues, the arrangements for which will follow. My office can be contacted on [email protected] should any colleague wish to discuss the Order. Lord True will be taking this procedure in the Lords.
Yours ever,
Chloe Smith MP
