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 * The organisation issuing 2011 Census data for Scotland is the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). For the organisation that took over GROS in April 2011, see National Records of Scotland (NRS).

The most recent census of the United Kingdom, known as the 2011 census, took place on 27 March 2011, a decade after the previous census. It was conducted on the same day in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure coherence and consistency.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for the census in England and Wales. The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) is responsible for the census in Scotland. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is responsible for the census in Northern Ireland. In its capacity as the national statistics office for the United Kingdom, ONS is also responsible for the census for the United Kingdom.

First results from the 2011 Census, in the form of age and sex, and occupied households estimates for England and for Wales were released on 16 July 2012. More detailed results, for a range of statistical and administrative areas, will follow in three more phases into October 2013.

Purpose
A population census is a key instrument for assessing the needs of local communities. When related to other data sources such as housing or agricultural censuses, or sample surveys, the data becomes even more useful. Most countries of the world take censuses: the United Nations recommends that countries take a census at least once every ten years. Twenty-one out of 40 countries in Europe are engaged in the 2010-2011 census round The design for the 2011 Census reflects changes in society since 2001 and asks questions to help paint a detailed demographic picture of the United Kingdom and its constituent countries as they stand on Census Day, 27 March. Data collected by the Census is used to provide statistical outputs which central government uses to plan and allocate local authority services funding, and which local authorities themselves use to identify and meet the needs of their local communities. Other organisations that use Census data include healthcare organisations, community groups, researchers and businesses. The questionnaires, including people’s personal information, are kept confidential for 100 years before being released to the public, providing an important source of information for historical, demographic and genealogy research.

Operational responsibility
The Census is not carried out by one office. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for the census in England and Wales. The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) is responsible for the census in Scotland. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is responsible for the census in Northern Ireland. In its capacity as the national statistics office for the United Kingdom, ONS is also responsible for the census for the United Kingdom. ONS does that by combining the England and Wales Census data with that from NISRA and GROS to produce data for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Each office cannot handle the enormous amounts of forms and data by itself. In order to cope, it asks private organisations to handle some parts of the data processing. For Northern Ireland, England and Wales it was Lockheed Martin UK, for Scotland it was CACI. To ensure confidentiality, those organisations are not alllowed to see the data.

Census test
The design of the questionnaires is tested some time before the Census. This is known as the "Census test".

Census rehearsal
The Census process is rehearsed before the Census proper. This is a full rehearsal which tests the online services, telephone helpline, address database, delivery systems, the efficacy and recruitment of field staff (census coordinators, enumerators and other field staff), engagement with local authorities and community representatives, and whether the public will fill out the forms and understand the necessity for doing so. This is known as the "Census rehearsal".

Legal authority
The power to hold Censuses generally in the UK is authorised by Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, but the power to hold specific Censuses require further authorisation. They are as follows:

Cost
The Censuses are not single events but are spread over several years, cover three jurisdictions and one of the offices (the ONS) conducts both the Census of England and Wales and the Census of the United Kingdom. Costs are therefore difficult to allocate, and may be quoted as a breakdown over the ten-year period covered

Method
Forms were sent to every household and communal establishment (hospitals, prisons, shelters, etc) in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales and the occupants were asked for data about themselves and their household on a specific day. That day is referred to as "Census Day" and in this Census it was 27 March 2011. People could give those details by filling out the forms and posting them, or by filling them out online.

When they have processed the data, each office publishes the statistics in several tranches. Each tranche is known as a "release" and each release takes several months. There are four releases and they cover:


 * Population and Household statistics
 * Key and Quick statistics
 * Local and other statistics
 * Detailed and other statistics

Each office does not release its statistics at the same time nor in the same order, so UK-wide data for a release is not published until some time after each office has finished publishing that release for their area.

Personal census data is kept confidential for 100 years. The published statistics are reliable enough to be used by central and local government, but are kept vague enough to prevent information about specific individuals being disclosed or deduced. Thus confidentiality is maintained.

Production
Responsibility for holding a Census in England and Wales lies with the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Lockheed Martin UK, the UK arm of US-based aerospace, defence, security, and technology company Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to provide services for the census comprising questionnaire printing, a customer contact centre and data capture and processing. The contract is valued at £150 million, approximately one third of the total £482 million census budget.

Capita Group was contracted by ONS to recruit, train and administer the pay for the 35,000 temporary ONS workers who worked as field staff for the 2011 Census.

Test and rehearsal
The census for England and Wales was trialled in 135,000 households in Lancaster, the London Borough of Newham and Anglesey on 11 October 2009. A test was also carried out in Birmingham at the same time. The questions for the 2011 Census are the same as those trialled in the 2009 Census Rehearsal.

Legal authority
The ultimate legal authority to hold a Census in England and Wales is the Census Act 1920. The legal authority to hold this specific Census was an Order for the 2011 Census. The Order for the 2011 Census (including the proposed question topics, census date and who should complete the questionnaire) was laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom in October 2009 and was approved by that Parliament and became law in December 2009.

Cost
The total cost of the 2011 Census in England and Wales over the period from 2004/05 to 2015/16 is estimated to be £482 million. This is over double the £210m spent of the 2001 census. This breaks down to a cost of 87 pence per person, per year (over the life of the census – ten years). “The cost equates to about 87p a year per person, demonstrating excellent value for money. The per capita costs in the UK are less than for many other European countries that carry out similar censuses. In summary, this census will meet crucial requirements for statistical information that Government and others cannot do without.” Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Angela E. Smith).

Advertising
Advertising promoted the notion of how the UK 2011 census would help to shape Britain's future in areas such as healthcare and education. TV adverts, for example, depicted Origami, in census colours, forming objects including school computers and buses. A short sentence under the census logo informed the viewer that the census was a duty that must be undertaken. From 7 April 2011 advertising focussed on reminding people to complete and return by post or submit online.

Questionnaires
The 2011 Census in England and Wales included around 25 million households. Questionnaires were posted out to all households, using a national address register compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with the help of local authorities through comparisons of the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and the Royal Mail and Ordnance Survey national address products.

People could complete and submit their questionnaire online, or fill it in on paper and post it back in a pre-addressed envelope. Guidance was provided online and through the census helpline. Completed questionnaires were electronically tracked and field staff followed up with households that did not return a questionnaire. Special arrangements were made to count people living in communal establishments such as; boarding schools, prisons, military bases, hospitals, care homes, student halls of residence, hotels, royal apartments and embassies, as well as for particular communities; rough sleepers, travellers and those living on waterways. In these cases field staff delivered and collected questionniares and, where needed, provided advice or assistance in completing the questionniare.

There was a legal requirement to complete the 2011 Census questionnaire, under the terms of the Census Act 1920. As at 27 March 2011 everyone who had lived or intended to live in the country for three months or more was required to complete a questionnaire. Failure to return a completed questionnaire could lead to a fine and criminal record.

The general style of the questionnaire is similar to that of the 2001 census. A rehearsal questionnaire was released in 2009. Several new identity and status options were included for the first time. Other changes for 2011 included:
 * An option to complete the form online.
 * The 2011 census questionnaire included 56 questions in total.
 * It asked migrants their date of arrival and how long they intended to stay in the UK.
 * This was the first census since the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and the questionnaire included tick boxes for same-sex civil partnerships in relevant questions. The Equality and Human Rights Commission had called for a question to be included regarding respondents' sexual orientation. While the 2011 Census does not ask about sexual orientation or identity, a question on sexual identity was introduced to all ONS social surveys in January 2009 to support the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007.
 * English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh national identity tick-box option has been included following criticism that English and Welsh were absent from 2001.
 * A question about the number of bedrooms a household has, as well as the names, gender and birth dates of any overnight guests.
 * A question asking how well a respondent can speak English.
 * Unlike the 2001 census, there is no question on whether a resident has access to a bath or shower.
 * The section on ethnicity was expanded to include "Gypsy or Irish Traveller" and "Arab" categories, whilst Chinese has been merged into the "Asian British" category which formerly only included South Asian ethnic groups.
 * The questionnaire for the 2001 Census only included usual residents. For the 2011 Census, it included usual residents and any visitors staying the night on census day, 27 March 2011.

In 2001 only 38 people were reported to have been prosecuted for refusing to complete a questionnaire. In 2011 those who refused to complete the census questionnaire or included false information could face a fine of up to £1,000. A team of compliance staff were recruited to follow up by visiting those householders who refused to complete a questionniare or where their questionnaire was not returned or completed correctly.

Prospectus
ONS publishes a schedule stating what documents they will release and when. That schedule is called a "prospectus". The prospectus isn't fixed, but changes as schedules are changed. The latest prospectus is below.

Because it changes so often, a register is kept of prospectus updates. That register is called the "prospectus updates register" and you can find it here.

Release plans
ONS publishes its data in four tranches. Each tranche is called a "release". The four releases are:


 * First release: Population and Household statistics.
 * Second release: Key and Quick statistics.
 * Third release: Detailed and other statistics.
 * Fourth release: Local and other statistics.

Publications other than those are referred to as "subsequent releases" and may be counted as a nominal "fifth release".

Release dates
The actual and planned dates for each release are:

Production
Responsibility for holding a Census in Northern Ireland lies with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

Lockheed Martin UK, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, was used to gather data in Northern Ireland.

Test and rehearsal
The rehearsal was held on Sunday 11 October 2009 in two areas, Derriaghy and Moy & Benburb, covering approximately 5,000 households

Legal authority
The ultimate legal authority to hold a Census in Northern Ireland is the Census Act (Northern Ireland) 1969. The legal authority to hold this specific Census were the Census Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and the Census Order (Northern Ireland) 2010. The Order was laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly by the Northern Ireland Executive for approval.

Cost
The 2011 Census in Northern Ireland costing around £21.8 million over the six year period 2008 – 2014. Over the ten-year cycle the cost Is expected to be about £25 million.

Questionnaires
The 2011 Census in Northern Ireland had 59 questions in total. 14 were about the household and its accommodation and 45 questions were for each individual member of the household to complete.

Prospectus
NISRA publishes a schedule stating what documents they will release and when. That schedule is called a "prospectus". The prospectus isn't fixed, but changes as schedules are changed. The latest prospectus is below.

Because it changes so often, a register is kept of prospectus updates. That register is called the "prospectus updates register" and you can find it here.

Release plans
NISRA publishes its data in four tranches. Each tranche is called a "release". The four releases were originally intended to be:


 * First release: Population and Household statistics.
 * Second release: Key and Quick statistics.
 * Third release: Local and other statistics.
 * Fourth release: Detailed and other statistics.

After users’ reaction, the decision was made to swap the order of the third and fourth releases. The third release will now contain the Detailed Characteristics tables and the fourth release the Local Characteristics tables. Detailed Theme tables will remain as part of the fourth release and be produced at the end of that release. So the four releases became:


 * First release: Population and Household statistics.
 * Second release: Key and Quick statistics.
 * Third release: Detailed and other statistics.
 * Fourth release: Local and other statistics.

Publications other than those are referred to as "subsequent releases" and may be counted as a nominal "fifth release".

Release dates
The actual and planned dates for each release are:

Production
Responsibility for holding a Census in Scotland lies with the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), which became part of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) in April 2011.

A wholly owned subsidiary of information technology company CACI was contracted to gather information in Scotland.

Test and rehearsal
Plans were rehearsed in west Edinburgh, Lewis and Harris.

Legal authority
The ultimate legal authority to hold a Census in Scotland is the Census Act 1920. The legal authority to hold this specific Census were the Census (Scotland) Regulations 2010 and the Census (Scotland) Order 2010. They were laid before the Scottish Parliament by the Scottish Government for approval.

Questionnaires
The 2011 Scotland Census asked 13 household questions and up to 35 questions for each individual. The 2011 census was the first to include a question asking about the ability to read, write and understand the Scots language alongside the question for ability in Scottish Gaelic and English languages.

Prospectus
GROS publishes a schedule stating what documents they will release and when. That schedule is called a "prospectus". The prospectus isn't fixed, but changes as schedules are changed. The latest prospectus is below.

GROS does not maintain a prospectus updates register.

Release plans
In June 2012 GROS advised on its release plan which commences in December 2012. GROS publishes its data in four tranches, each more detailed than the last. Each tranche is called a "release". The four releases are:


 * First release: Population and Household statistics.
 * Second release: Key and Quick statistics.
 * Third release: Local and other statistics.
 * Fourth release: Detailed and other statistics.

Publications other than those are referred to as "subsequent releases" and may be counted as a nominal "fifth release".

Release dates
The actual and planned dates for each release are:

Production
Responsibility for providing Census data for the United Kingdom lies with the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department formed in 2008 and which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ONS is the single largest statistical producer of independent statistics on the UK's economy and society. Those statistics are used to assist the planning and allocation of resources, policy-making and decision-making. In its capacity as the national statistics office for the United Kingdom, ONS compiles and releases census tables for the United Kingdom when the data from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are complete.

Release plans
Responsibility for data provision is split between the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Each body each body publishes its data in four tranches. Each tranche is called a "release". Each release takes months from beginning to end, and each body publishes them at a different time. It is only when a release is published by all three bodies can the UK figures for that release be published.

Those releases are:
 * First release: Population and Household
 * Second release: Key and Quick statistics
 * Third release: Local and others
 * Fourth release: Detailed and others

Publications other than those four are referred to as "subsequent releases" and are counted as a nominal "fifth release". Such subsequent releases including migration tables, workplace tables, detailed religion and ethnic group tables, and statistics relating to alternative population bases. Specialist products would include small population groups; microdata; flow data (also known as origin-destination statistics). It is also suggested that data organised around alternative population bases may be produced. There are plans for themed analyses (or stories) to be released from spring 2013 based on: families; internal and international migration; religion; ethnicity and national identity; language; travel to work; health; older workers; characteristics of older people. As was the case for the 2001 census there will continue to be specially commissioned analyses produced to order.

Use of CACI
A subsidiary of CACI was used to gather data in Scotland. CACI "provided interrogators who worked at Abu Ghraib prison at the height of the prisoner abuse scandal".

Use of Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin UK, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, was used to gather data in Northern Ireland, England and Wales. Concerns were raised during contract negotiations that the US PATRIOT Act could be used to force Lockheed Martin to reveal census data to US authorities. The Cabinet Office state that Lockheed Martin will "develop the systems" used to process census data, but that "in essence ... neither Lockheed Martin UK nor any Lockheed Martin employee will have access to personal Census data." The Office for National Statistics stated that no personal census information will ever leave the UK or be seen by any American-owned company.

Several groups called for a boycott of the census over the involvement of Lockheed Martin, including the Stop the War Coalition, and the Christian thinktank Ekklesia. The groups were concerned about sharing data with a company involved in surveillance and data processing for the CIA and FBI; and also providing funding to an arms company making nuclear missiles and cluster bombs. The Green Party also objected, and campaigned unsuccessfully to stop Lockheed Martin getting the contract, although no decision was made about whether or not to call for a boycott. The Census Alert campaign group also decided against calling for a boycott.

Liberal Conspiracy said a boycott would be counter-productive, as the Census is used to distribute funding to local services. Liberal Conspiracy reports that a council may lose £22,000 over 10 years for each person who does not complete the census.

Appropriateness of a census
While in opposition, the Conservatives termed the census as a "sex snoopers charter", accusing it of infringing on privacy.

In a Commons Debate on population and the traditional enumeration methodology of the 2011 Census, Conservative Party Chairman and MP for Horsham Francis Maude, said “The current advice from the ONS is clear. Census alternatives are not sufficiently developed to provide now the information required to meet essential UK and EU requirements. It is therefore important that the census goes ahead in England and Wales on 27 March 2011. ONS must do all it can to ensure it is a success."

Cornish identity
Although some 37,000 people recorded their identity as Cornish by manually writing it on the form in the 2001 census, no tick-box was provided in 2011 to select Cornish as an identity, despite campaigns. As a consequence, posters were created by the census organisation and Cornwall Council which advised residents of how they could identify themselves as Cornish by writing it in the national identity, ethnicity and main language sections. Additionally, people could record Cornwall as their country of birth.

Humanist identity
During the consultation on the 2011 census the British Humanist Association raised several concerns about question 20, "What is your religion?". The BHA argued it was a leading question, and suggested that it should be phrased as two questions, "Do you have a religion?" and "If so, what is it?". It contended that by placing the religion question near the ethnicity question it would encourage some responders to associate religion with cultural identity. The BHA also ran adverts during March 2011 encouraging the use of the 'no religion' box in the questionnaire

Plans for 2021
In July 2010, the government asked ONS to explore other methods of measuring the population. The objectives of the Beyond 2011 project are to assess the feasibility of improving UK population statistics using integrated data sources to replace or complement existing approaches - and whether alternative data sources can provide the priority statistics on the characteristics of small populations typically provided by a census. The project will report its findings and recommendations in 2014.

England and Wales

 * 2011 Census in England and Wales at the Office for National Statistics
 * The Official 2011 Census website the official English website, now redirected.
 * The Official 2011 Census website the official Welsh website, now redirected.
 * Census 2011 recruitment site, now closed.

Scotland

 * 2011 Census in Scotland at the General Register Office for Scotland
 * Scotland's Census 2011

Northern Ireland

 * 2011 Census in Northern Ireland at the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

United Kingdom

 * 2011 Census in the United Kingdom at the Office for National Statistics
 * This is Britain with Andrew Marr - BBC programme looking at life in Britain on the eve of the 2011 Census