You asked
Can you please send me copies of the guidance offered on how to complete the census in 1981 and at each of the four occasions since, including 2021? Please include online and paper versions if different and any revisions made to it in any Census if revisions came after first publication.
We said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request for copies of the completion guidance for the 1981, 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Censuses.
Completion guidance for Census 2021 is available on www.census.gov.uk. Households who were sent a paper questionnaire also received a copy of the attached information leaflet (ILPN1).
Online help was also available for the 2011 Census via the following link: Online help for the 2011 Census. Please also see the homepage of the census campaign website, as this lists all the guidance and help that was available. For the 2011 Census an information leaflet was included in the questionnaire pack that was delivered to every household in England and Wales. Households had the option to complete the census online or use the paper questionnaire. Following a search of our archives, we can confirm that we do not hold a paper copy of the 2011 Census guidance.
Following a search of our archives, we can also confirm that we do not hold any of the materials requested from 1981, 1991 or 2001. However, The National Archives (TNA) may have some records that would be of interest for 1981 and 1991 under the series RG27. Please see the following link for this information: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C13352
For any further information you may require regarding Census 2021 or previous censuses please contact Census Customer Services.