FOI Response: FOI/2022/4324
You asked
I would like clear answers on my below questions regarding CENSUS 2021:
Why was it the date of birth necessary to be provided on the CENSUS 2021 form, and not the age, instead?
Why were the employment details (such employer name and workplace address) asked for, instead of job title and occupation?
How are people fined, if they failed to complete the CENSUS form?
How does the ONS verify the accuracy of the information on Census 2021 form provided by the household, against?
Name the third party that is collecting and processing digital Census 2021 form, on ONS's behalf (if this is the case).
If there is a 3rd party collecting and processing the data CENSUS 2021 online (on ONS's behalf), are they authorized by ICO to collect /process data collected through census online?
Isn't the CENSUS act 1920 outdated in line with the current GDPR/DATA PROTECTION 2018?
Aren't these legislations Census (England and Wales) Order 2020, the Census (England) Regulations 2020 in contradiction with GDPR/Data Protection act 2018? I am asking this as the Office for National Statistics does NOT provide contractual or non-contractual services (of any kind) to the members of the public, nor social benefits, nor income to the general public ,where the personal data such as: full name ;date of birth;address;employer details;workplace details, should ONLY being disclosable/provided in order for the individual to access certain services/benefits etc..
Can an individual exercise the right to access its personal data held by ONS, provided through Census 2021? If not why?
Can an individual exercise the right to retract the consent of its personal data from being processed by ONS, provided through the Census 2021 form (online ) ?If not, why?
What proof /guarantee does ONS provide to the public, that their personal data aren't shared/disclosed/transferred to other government agencies or to public and private corporations?
We said
Thank you for your FOI request.
1. Why was it the date of birth necessary to be provided on the CENSUS 2021 form, and not the age, instead?
Date of birth is asked instead of age as it is used to calculate age as of 30 June, when our mid-year population estimates are produced, as well as for age as at Census Day. This is less burdensome on respondents who would find calculating their date of birth as a future date difficult. It also means that if age as at a different date was required, such as at the start of the academic year, this could be easily calculated.
Date of birth is also a key variable for linking Census records. The Census data is, for example, a key component of the ONS longitudinal study. Age is used to link individuals records between each Census and other sources used in the study such as births and deaths data.
2. Why were the employment details (such employer name and workplace address) asked for, instead of job title and occupation?
Workplace address is asked as this allows us to produce data on commuter flows. This is a separate data need to the questions on occupation.
Employer name is collected in addition to a brief description of what the employer mainly does as one of the fields that feed into the coding of industry. Without it the quality of information on industry would be lower. This is also a separate data need to the questions on occupation.
Reports on the data needs leading to the inclusion of questions on the 2021 Census are publicly available: 2021 Census topic consultation - Office for National Statistics (See reports on demography, travel, and labour market and socioeconomic classification).
3.How are people fined, if they failed to complete the CENSUS form?
If any person required to complete the Census refuses to do so, an offence is committed under s8(1)(a) of the Census Act. It is the policy of ONS to only submit cases that they consider amount to a clear refusal.
Cases are heard at, and fines awarded by, the Magistrates Courts. More information is available on the Crown Prosecution Service website.
4. How does the ONS verify the accuracy of the information on Census 2021 form provided by the household, against?
ONS have a series of data processing stages to check the consistency and coherence of the data. A blog was published last year on the steps we take to check the data - Census 2021 -- the count is done, the data is in, so what happens next? | National Statistical (ons.gov.uk)
5. Name the third party that is collecting and processing digital Census 2021 form, on ONS's behalf (if this is the case).
6. If there is a 3rd party collecting and processing the data CENSUS 2021 online (on ONS's behalf), are they authorized by ICO to collect /process data collected through census online?
Answer to questions 5 and 6 can be found in a previous published FOI response linked here for ease: Suppliers for the 2021 Census
7. Isn't the CENSUS act 1920 outdated in line with the current GDPR/DATA PROTECTION 2018?
The Census Act 1920 (the Act) allows the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to conduct a census in England and Wales every 10 years. The Act requires ONS to ask certain questions, for example regarding nationality and occupation, and has been subject to several revisions, such as the inclusion of a requirement to ask a question about religion.
For each census, secondary legislation in the form of an Order and Regulations need to be approved by Parliament. The Order defines the date of the census, the topics to be included and the requirements for people to complete and to be included on the census. The Regulations define the arrangements for completing the census, such as the delivery and response options and the copies of the questionnaires.
The census meets the requirements of the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. A full Data Protection Impact Assessment was completed for the census and privacy information was provided to all data subjects, either via the census website or paper versions that accompanied questionnaires. ONS have a lawful basis for conducting the census under our functions as the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and its recognised national statistical institute. The census legislation also makes it a legal requirement for those required, to complete a census return. All personal data collected during the census is held securely and is used to produce statistics that do not identify individuals.
8. Aren't these legislations Census (England and Wales) Order 2020, the Census (England) Regulations 2020 in contradiction with GDPR/Data Protection act 2018? I am asking this as the Office for National Statistics does NOT provide contractual or non-contractual services (of any kind) to the members of the public, nor social benefits, nor income to the general public, where the personal data such as: full name ;date of birth;address;employer details; workplace details, should ONLY being disclosable/provided in order for the individual to access certain services/benefits etc.
The statutory functions of ONS are described within the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. One of the key functions is the production and publication of statistics. One of the ways in which ONS obtain information to produce statistics is via surveys. Most surveys undertaken by ONS are voluntary but the census, by virtue of the relevant legislation, is mandatory.
The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 makes it a criminal offence, subject to a maximum penalty of 24 months imprisonment and/or a fine, for a member or employee of ONS to unlawfully disclose personal information held by it in relation to any of its functions. As per government policy, personal census data remains in the custody and ownership of ONS for 100 years.
The secondary legislation for the 2021 Census is not in contradiction with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. ONS has a lawful basis to process information provided on census questionnaires. The lawful basis can be found within the UK GDPR at article 6(1)(c), where the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject; and article 6(1)(e), where the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
Personal data on a census return can be only used for statistical purposes. ONS statistics do not contain any information that allows individuals to be identified.
9. Can an individual exercise the right to access its personal data held by ONS, provided through Census 2021? If not, why?
You have the right to request access to the information held about you from any controller holding your personal data. However, please be aware that we may not be required to comply with such requests if the data are being held for statistical purposes only, such as data from census questionnaires. Compliance requirements are set out in the Data Protection Act 2018.
10. Can an individual exercise the right to retract the consent of its personal data from being processed by ONS, provided through the Census 2021 form (online ) ?If not, why?
Consent was not used by ONS as the lawful basis for processing personal data during the 2021 Census. As described previously, the lawful basis within UK GDPR were article 6(1)(c), where the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject; and article 6(1)(e), where the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
11. What proof /guarantee does ONS provide to the public, that their personal data aren't shared/disclosed/transferred to other government agencies or to public and private corporations?
We are an independent, non-ministerial agency that reports directly to Parliament. We are the UK's largest producer of official statistics and a recognised National Statistical Institute (NSI). We are trusted to collect and protect information. The census asks questions about you, your home and the people who live in it. That is personal information that we keep safe and confidential by law.
Aggregated census data helps to inform decisions nationally and locally on vital services and issues like diversity. However, personal census information can't be used to change any service an individual gets, and it can't be seen by anyone who makes decisions about them. For example, it cannot be used by government to influence benefit claims, a residency application, immigration status or taxes, or by landlords or any other private organisation.
We have a strict security regime that follows government standards. This includes physical and IT security measures to protect your information, covering people, processes and technology.
The statistics will not show it is you. We publish statistics from the census so that local councils and central government can better understand the needs of the people living in different areas. We anonymise all information before we publish statistics, so none of your personal details are released.
Your actual census record will be kept secure for 100 years. Only then can it be seen by future generations.
The law protects you, as all our systems, staff and suppliers, and the way we do things, must protect your confidentiality by law.
Laws in place that cover protection of your information include:
- Data Protection Act 2018
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Census Act 1920
- Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007
We must follow these to the letter.