FOI Ref: FOI/2022/3821
You asked
Please supply the following information:
Percentage of 30 year old men who had no children in 1971
Percentage of 30 year old men who had no children in 2021
We said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request for the percentage of men aged 30 without children in 1971 and 2021.
Unfortunately, we do not hold information on the 1971 Census for men aged 30 who had no children.
The first release of data from Census 2021 is scheduled for late spring 2022 starting with population counts. More detailed statistics will become available in a later phase and announced on this page of the ONS website.
As such, the information you have requested for the 2021 Census is considered exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future. Furthermore, as a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.
If you require any further about this request, please contact Census Customer Services at census.customerservices@ons.gov.uk.