England and Wales Census Confirmed for 2031

The UK government has confirmed that the England and Wales Census will take place in 2031, as recommended a month ago by the UK Statistics Authority, following a review.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) wrote to the government on 17th June recommending that it continue the two-century-old tradition for England and Wales with a 2031 wave, while its Scottish counterpart simultaneously offered the same basic conclusion. The decision followed years of speculation including calls for administrative data sources such as health records and tax data to be used in place of a national survey - these are now expected to supplement rather than replace the main survey. The same week, the government of New Zealand opted to scrap its own census, which in recent times had run twice each decade but had recently been beset with problems.

In a letter to Sir Robert Chote, UK Statistics Authority Chair, Georgia Gould MP, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, confirmed today that the government was commissioning the ONS to conduct 'a mandatory, questionnaire-based, whole-population census' of England and Wales in 2031. The letter supports the conclusion that 'High-quality population and migration statistics underpin central and local government service delivery, resource allocation and policy development,' and goes on to give qualified approval for the use of innovative methods and technology. 'The success of the 2021 Census demonstrated the potential of a predominantly online approach and achieved a remarkable response rate. This set a strong foundation for the 2031 Census to go even further, though efforts must be made by ONS to ensure inclusivity and to capture the characteristics of harder-to-reach individuals and communities who may have limited access to the Internet.'

Web site: www.ons.gov.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.