You asked
I would like to know how many 2021 Census reminder letters were sent out in March/April 2021?
How much does each letter cost?
How much the postage was per letter?
We said
Thank you for your request regarding follow-up letters regarding the completion of the 2021 Census form.
Firstly, please note that the letters were not randomly generated. We only sent reminder letters to addresses from which our records showed that we had not received a completed census. Using reminder letters in this way was the most cost-effective way of reaching households that had not responded, as the alternative would have been a visit in person by census field staff to each of these addresses. For Census 2021, we used a combination of reminder letters and in-person field staff visits to provide encouragement and support to complete the census, and we achieved a return rate of over 97% of households across England and Wales.
Unfortunately, there were a few cases where the recording of completed census questionnaires did not feed through into our system in time to stop follow-up activity to the address. We are aware that this caused confusion and distress in some households and we sincerely apologise for this.
You asked how any reminder letters were sent during March and April. We plan to publish extensive information in due course about how the operation went as part of our evaluation process and that will include information about reminder letters.
As this information is due to be published in the future, this information is exempt from release under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
As the central government department responsible for the coordination of the 2021 Census, we need to have the freedom to reflect and report on how this process has been conducted. We need to be allowed to deal with the necessary preparation and administration involved when reporting on such activities. Because we are looking to publish a report, which will include the information requested, it would be unreasonable to consider disclosure at this stage before such figures have been finalised.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. Whilst we recognise the desirability of information being freely available, information reported about the Census 2021 needs to be complete and accurate, so that the Census programme can be accurately monitored. Early release of this information could negatively impact parts of the Census campaign that are currently ongoing, which would arguably not be in the public interest.
Therefore, in this case, we have found the public interest to fall in favour of withholding this information.
You have asked about the cost of each reminder letter and postage of those letters. This was part of the Census Print and Post contract which we awarded to HH Associates on 31 October 2018, following a competition for this contract through the Crown Commercial Service Managed Print and Digital Solutions Framework RM3785.The contract was to provide all printed communications to the general public (excluding paper questionnaires) and has a forecast maximum value of £25m. The printed communications covered by this contract include postcards and Initial Contact Letters, which were sent to around 27 million households prior to census day, as well as reminder letters, and a wide range of other supplementary materials such as information leaflets, large print, Braille and translation booklets. It was a large complex contract and it is not possible to attribute the overall costs to individual items.
The costs of each individual items and postage costs are considered exempt under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000, as disclosure would prejudice the commercial interests of ONS and the supplier involved.
The use of this exemption is subject to the public interest test.
Whilst we recognise arguments in favour of transparency and accountability regarding information pertaining to government public spending, we also value the public interest in our own capability to negotiate and to compete in a commercial environment.
Disclosure of the requested information would jeopardise our ability to negotiate future contracts and procurements at an advantageous price for us, which would be in the public interest as this will help to preserve public funds.
Additionally, it is also in the public interest for public authorities to be able to maintain the trust and confidence of the suppliers with which we work. Disclosure of the cost of these adverts would negatively impact a third party's ability to generate higher levels of income in the future, as their ability to experience open and fair competition for their advertising services would be compromised. This would therefore render this supplier and other companies unwilling to work with us in the future. We would therefore have a reduced pool of suppliers with which we could negotiate. This damage to our reputation therefore directly and negatively impacts our commercial interests.
Therefore, the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the benefit of release.
As already stated, we will be publishing a range of operational evaluation information about Census 2021. You can register for email updates about Census 2021 and other areas of the ONS.