2011 Census general information
Introduction
The 2011 Census takes place across England and Wales on 27 March 2011. A census is a
count of the population and one has been held in England and Wales every ten years since
1801 - except in 1941, during World War II. The census is taken to gather information to
describe and understand the characteristics of the population so that central and local
government are able to plan housing, education, healthcare and transport services for years
to come.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) runs the census in England and Wales and
produces the statistics that are so vital to shaping our communities.
The questionnaire
Every household in England and Wales receives a questionnaire to complete and return.
The questionnaire asks straightforward questions and is available in English, Welsh and
large print. Guides are also available in Braille and Easy Read formats.
The questionnaire can be completed online or on paper and must be completed in English
or Welsh. For householders whose first language is not English or Welsh, translation
booklets are available in 56 different languages and language assistance is also available
on dedicated helpline numbers.
There are 14 questions about your household (such as number of rooms) and there are a
maximum of 42 questions about you and the people who live with you. Not all questions will
apply to everyone. For instance, questions about place of work will not apply to children.
The questionnaire only takes about 10 minutes to complete for each adult in the household,
and about 10 minutes more for the household and visitor questions.
ONS is committed to ensure that all personal information provided on the census
questionnaire is confidential. When your questionnaire is returned to ONS it is scanned and
the information is stored securely. By law, your personal census information must remain
confidential for 100 years. Your answers will be turned into anonymous statistics – just
numbers. No-one will be able to work out from whom or where the answers have come.
These numbers are then analysed by statisticians to describe the population and inform
decisions about the nature and scale of public services that should be provided locally,
regionally and nationally over the next ten years.
Why the census asks questions about:
Household
•
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These questions ask about the accommodation occupied by each household.
The information obtained will highlight housing standards, housing need and
overcrowding.
•
Shortage of space is a good indicator of poor housing and living in overcrowded
conditions is often linked with poor personal health. Questions on the number of rooms,
along with the number of people in a household, will help show overcrowding.
•
Questions on the type of central heating can be used to combat fuel poverty as well
as provide information on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Relationship and basic characteristics
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These questions give us information about what the population looks like and how
we all live together, both in local areas and the country as a whole.
•
The information shows the changes in the way that we live, such as changing
patterns of marriage, cohabitation and civil partnerships within households
•
Local councils use this information to highlight areas where the population includes
large numbers of, say, young couples, older people or large families. This allows better
planning of health and education services.
•
Central government uses the data to monitor policies for children and families,
particularly for vulnerable groups.
Identity
•
These include questions on religion, national identity, ethnic group and language and
aim to measure a sense of belonging to a particular identity.
•
There are tick-boxes for some categories and a space to write in any other identity
not listed.
•
They should be considered as a set of combined questions measuring different
aspects of a person’s identity.
•
The resulting statistics can be combined to show a lot of detail. So a person could,
for instance, record their identity as Black AND English AND Christian, or Indian AND
Welsh AND Hindu.
Employment and qualifications
•
Questions on employment will give a picture of the type of jobs people have, where
they work, and how far they travel.
•
This will provide information on unemployment, working patterns, industry and
commuting patterns.
•
They show changes in the workforce, allow for transport planning, employment
forecasting and help develop government policy on business.
•
Information on qualifications is used to monitor skills and education among the
population and helps plan further education and training as well as monitoring policies
on life-long learning, and equality in access to education and training.
Visitor
•
Anyone staying overnight at an address that is not where they normally live is
considered a visitor.
•
They need to answer questions on the back of the questionnaire and will be asked
for their name, sex, usual address and date of birth.
•
We will then be able to cross-reference the information given by visitors with
questionnaires from households to make sure people are only counted once.
•
The information will also be used by local councils to measure the pressure on
services such as transport and health in areas due to large number of visitors working or
studying there.