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We paused our census engagement activities on Friday following the sad news of the death of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. These are our working arrangements for this week and they include our plans for a cessation of engagement activities, as a mark of respect, for the funeral on Saturday 17 April:
Census field officers are knocking on doors again this week. They will stop for the whole day on Saturday 17 April.
The Contact Centre is open all week and will remain open, as planned, on Saturday morning only.
In line with central government guidance there will be minimal campaigning and promotional work this week.
Action Fraud have produced a useful Q and A guide to help keep the public safe from census related scams.
Action Fraud article
Our census officers are out and about, following up with non-responding households. Please remember:
- Census officers carry an ID card with their photograph and name
- Census officers work through the day to make contact with residents but will not call before 09:00 or after 20:00
- Census officers never ask for money or bank details
- Census officers never need to enter someone’s home
The second set of response maps are now available through your CEM who will also be able to explain the RAG status in more detail.
The maps show local authority areas shaded red, amber, or green at Lower-Level Super Output area (LSOA).
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These maps relate to households not communal establishments
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They include online and paper returns received up to 11pm on Tuesday 6 April
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The codes on the side (1,2,3) are due to the parameters on the software we use, we can only plot numeric measures on the map. Therefore, the areas must be coded as 1, 2 or 3 and then coloured afterwards.
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Green means LSOA at or above expected return rate.
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Amber means LSOA is between 0 and 7.5 % below expected return rate
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Red means LSOA is more than 7.5% below expected return rate
The expected return rates are based on characteristics of an area and how hard to count we expect it to be. So, green does not mean the same return rate between LAs or within LAs. For example, we would typically expect a lower return rate in an inner-city area than in a suburb and this will be reflected in the classifications. We do not expect a uniform return rate across England and Wales and these differences are reflected in all the maps.
The expected return rates also change over time to reflect the expected profile of returns. So, the red/amber/green classifications reflect progress at that point in time, not against final expectations.
We have chosen three points in time which best reflect the different periods in the operation.
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The first point (24 March) reflected the self-response period when a large proportion of households in each area respond before field follow-up or reminder letters land.
- This set of maps (7 April) reflects the middle of the follow-up period when all non-responding households should have received at least one reminder letter and a visit from a census officer to encourage them to respond.
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The final point (21 April) reflects the conditions towards the end of the field operation and the final push to get all outstanding households to respond.
There has been a fantastic response to Census 2021. Nine out of ten households across England and Wales have completed their questionnaire – but everyone must take part.
Read the rest of this press release in the links below:
English press release dated 7 April
Welsh press release dated 7 April
We are very keen to receive your support with getting these messages across to the public. There are still people who have not completed the census in your area and we want to ensure they have the right information. Please update your communication teams, customer services and the census information on your website, to include the following:
Census 2021 is not over
Even if you've missed Census Day there is still time to complete your census! Every household is required by law to complete the census and even though Census Day – 21 March 2021 – has been and gone, it is not too late to complete a questionnaire. We have had a great response to Census 2021 so far, but everyone needs to respond as soon as possible to avoid a fine.
Students must be counted
Students are vitally important and do count! All students need to be included in the census, and they should complete a form for their usual term-time address even if they weren’t there on census day. If they’re currently living at their home address, they will need to be included in the census for that household too. If you’re an international student and not currently in England or Wales, but would normally be, we also want to count you. All universities and colleges have details of how to get a census form. Or go to census.gov.uk and request an access code.
You might need to complete a form for more than one address
Everyone needs to complete a return at their usual address, even if they weren’t there on Census Day, as local services will still be required at both addresses. If the pandemic has changed where you are currently living, for example if you moved out of a city to a rural or holiday home prior to lockdown restrictions, or you haven’t visited your city commuter flat because of lockdown, you still need to complete a census form at both addresses. Visit census.gov.uk to request an access code for your second address.
Empty houses need to be counted too
It is important that we have a census return for all houses, even if nobody usually lives there – for example holiday homes and caravans - because it’s a census of housing as well as a census of population. Local councils need to know about all houses in their area so they can plan services and work out how many new houses need to be built. Visit census.gov.uk to request an access code if you own an empty house, flat or caravan.
I’m not a British citizen, should I be counted?
Yes. Everyone staying in England and Wales on Census Day, March 21, has to be counted.
Your information will never be shared
Personal census data is kept under lock and key for 100 years. No individual or their responses can be identified in the statistics we publish. In fact, your personal information can't be seen by anyone who makes decisions about you. 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.
Why should I complete the census - it doesn’t help me?
The census benefits us all by underpinning all the services every single one of us relies on. It provides information on our living arrangements, health, education and the jobs we do and the information from it will help inform policy at a local and national level for years to come. From school places to the planning of bike lanes – census information is even used when deciding where to build new supermarkets, what food to put on the shelves and how many parent and toddler spaces to put in the car park.
If you can’t get online, there is support available
This is the very first time we are asking everyone to respond online if they can and we’ve had a terrific response. If you know someone who doesn't have the skills or confidence to do it online, help is at hand. We have census support centres across England and Wales, offering telephone and face to face support. Visit https://census.gov.uk/help/find-a-census-support-centre to find a centre near you. You can also call our contact centre. Call 0800 141 2021 in England and 0800 169 2021 in Wales for help or to order a paper questionnaire.
What personal information will census officers ask for?
A field officer will only ask for a householder’s name and phone number if they request a new online code. They will also ask for the householder’s name if they request a paper questionnaire.
However, they will never ask to see personal documents like passports or birth certificates. Field officers will never ask for payment and they will not enter your home.
Census officers will never fine you on the doorstep
Do not be scammed. Census field officers will never ask for a payment on the doorstep. The role of field officers is to give help and encouragement to those who have not yet filled in their census questionnaire online or on paper after Census Day and direct them to the support services they need. They will be operating in the same way as a postal or food delivery visit. They also carry ID to show they are genuinely working on the census.
We will continue to support people to respond to the census but if a household refuses to fill out a questionnaire we will ultimately proceed to an interview under caution, which may be followed by a court summons, a fine of up to £1,000 and a criminal record.
You will never be asked to pay a fine online for making a mistake on your questionnaire
Do not be scammed. For a fine to be imposed your case must go to court for non-completion of the census. You will never be issued with a fine by text message, on social media or by email. Our Cyber Intelligence team is scouring the web for phishing sites and taking them down. If you find a site that looks suspicious or receive text messages with links to sites asking for money related to the census, do not engage with them. Report them to the Census 2021 Contact Centre by ringing 0800 141 2021 in England and 0800 169 2021 in Wales.
With 316 LAs active on social media and almost 4000 census tweets between you, we would like to thank everyone for their support.
Is your LA in our top 20 list?
Tameside, Caerphilly, Slough, Enfield, Birmingham, Salford, Rochdale, Hackney, Tendring, Sheffield, Carlisle, Stratford, Medway, North Somerset, Camden, Guildford, East Suffolk, Havering, Mole Valley and Barnet.
You can find a pack of social media posts and images to use on our downloadable resources page.
- Issue Thirteen - January 2021 – Students, February workshops, addressing update, website resources
- Issue Fourteen - 5 February – Rough sleepers, trading standards, call centres
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Issue Fifteen - 12 February – Enumerating students, addressing update, Council Tax data and Campaign launch
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Issue Sixteen - 19 February – Schools update, FAQs, Council Advertising Network
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Issue Seventeen - 26 February – 2nd campaign toolkit, CSCs, Contact centre, Council Tax
- Issue Eighteen - 5 March – Education update, social media calendars, CSCs, downloadable resources
- Issue Nineteen - 12 March – Second homes, follow-up visits and scam guidance, geography consultation
- Issue Twenty - 19 March – Follow-up visits, scam guidance, second homes
- Issue Twenty one - 26 March – RAG response maps, social media calendar, scam guidance
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Issue Twenty two - 1 April – RAG maps, scams, COVID-19 tests for field officers
Census 2021 Website: www.census.gov.uk
Quality Assurance: ONS’s approach and processes for assuring the quality of 2021 Census data
Census 2021 Questionnaire: paper questionnaires are now available to view online
Census Order and Regulations for England and Wales:
Census (England and Wales) Order 2020.
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