2021 Census field staffing numbers

FOI reference: FOI-2025-3173

You asked

Could you please clarify the recruitment figures that are conflicting in two official documents relating to the Census Transformation Programme?

On Page 15 of the 'CFFPSP Schedule 2 Specification 1' document (in the associated download), it states: “The Services comprise an outsourced, integrated service for the recruitment, payroll (including expenses and pension), HR and training to deliver and support up to 4,437 people”.

However, if you refer to Page 102 of the Census 2021 General Report – England and Wales, it states the “Actual Numbers” were 25,570 for the field force team for England and Wales?

Please clarify:

• Please could you explain the big discrepancy between the people required in the People Services Partner document in the first attachment (up to 4,437 people) and the actual number in the 2021 field force of 25,570 people?
• Was the recruitment services element for the full Field Force Team fully outsourced to Adecco?
• What job titles/roles would have been covered by that estimated initial figure of “up to 4,437” people?
• If there is a re-procurement for the 2031 census in this manner, what could we expect the TOTAL staff requirement for the Field Force Team and what could this be comprised of?

We said

Thank you for your enquiry about the field force numbers for Census 2021 in England and Wales and our contract with Adecco as Census Field Force People Services Partner.

The 'Scope of Service' section in the "CFFPSP Schedule 2 Specification 1" document to which you refer reads: "The Services comprise an outsourced, integrated service for the recruitment, payroll (including expenses and pension), HR and training to deliver and support up to 4,437 people and 4,821,650 hours that will make up the Field Force."

This description separates out the estimated maximum number of people in fixed roles in the Field Force and the maximum number of hours we estimated needed to be worked by those in flexible roles. As the latter were flexible, the hours of work needed was the relevant figure and there was not a fixed number of roles.

The associated file "Appendix_17_VandTs.docx" shows the breakdown of the roles between these two categories. Tables 1b and 1c show the roles in each category across the Rehearsal and each stage of Census 2021. No firm estimate of the number of staff is given, but table 1e in the appendix gives roles and indicative numbers totalling 36,000 to 43,000 people, showing estimates of roles and hours needed based on the known assumptions at the time of issuing the Invitation to Tender to the market.

The 25,570 field staff recorded in table 3.4 in the Census 2021 general report shows the final numbers actually employed in both the fixed roles and the flexible roles for the main census operational period (not including the Rehearsal).

Adecco was the sole supplier for field force recruitment as Census Field Force People Services Partner. They worked closely with relevant teams in the Office for National Statistics.

Preparations for Census 2031 in England and Wales are at an early stage. The size and shape of the field force will be affected by upcoming operational and design decisions, so cannot be estimated at this stage