FOI Ref: FOI/2022/4219
You asked
Does the buck stop with you in relation to all UK census material and management including the governance and legal competence of any devolved nation devolved census in particular Scotland.
Can you provide me with a copy of or access to questions on the the UK/England census in total without qualification.
I want to secure the knowledge that the English census is also not anonymous in relation to individual activity , places of study and work and mode of commuting to those activities and the risk of misuse of that knowledge can present in the wrong hands.
We said
Thank you for your request. Please see the following answers to your questions.
Does the buck stop with you in relation to all UK census material and management including the governance and legal competence of any devolved nation devolved census in particular Scotland.
We (The Office for National Statistics) are responsible for conducting the census in England and Wales. The census in Scotland is conducted by National Records Scotland (NRS) and the census in Northern Ireland is conducted by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). The census offices work together to share best practice and promote harmonisation across the UK, however decisions on the materials and management of each census are made by each individual office.
Can you provide me with a copy of or access to questions on the UK/England census in total without qualification.
Please see the following link to a copy of the questionnaire used for the 2021 Census: Household Questionnaire - Office for National Statistics.
I want to secure the knowledge that the English census is also not anonymous in relation to individual activity, places of study and work and mode of commuting to those activities and the risk of misuse of that knowledge can present in the wrong hands.
Please see the following webpage regarding data security for 2021 Census for England and Wales: 'Your data and security'.
This page clarifies that our published statistics do not identify individuals. Identifiable Census data held on our systems are protected by rigorous physical and digital security measures that follow government standards. Members of ONS staff who are granted access to data for the purposes of statistical analysis must protect confidentiality by law. Please see the link for further details.