On 21 March 2021, the decennial 2021 United Kingdom census, called Census 2021, will occur throughout most of the United Kingdom. The census in Scotland will take place in 2022, known as Scotland’s Census 2022. It will be administered by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in England and Wales, by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency in Northern Ireland, and by the National Records of Scotland in Scotland. Census 2021 will be the first British census to collect most data online, and the ONS has confirmed that the census will go ahead despite the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because the information obtained will assist government and public understanding of the pandemic’s impact. However, enumeration in Scotland will take place one year later than the rest of the United Kingdom, the plans for it having been delayed because of the pandemic.
The deadline for filling in the national Census is March 21The Census which was first launched in 1801 has been used every decade since – to give a snapshot of life for all the people and households in England and Wales.
The last Census took place in 2011 and the next one is due this year – tomorrow to be exact.The Census website states every household should complete their Census on Sunday, March 21 or “as soon as possible after”.
The Minister for the Cabinet Office welcomed the recommendations for a predominantly online 2021 census for England and Wales supplemented by the use of governmental and other administrative data in a letter to the National Statistician in July 2014. He made clear that the Government saw the dual-running decennial national census with administrative data gathering option as a transitional approach and asked the National Statistician to ensure sufficient research is undertaken both prior to and after the 2021 census to find and validate alternative methods to replace the traditional national census and intermediate surveying approach.
Households are able to complete it via the paper form, or alternatively, online.”In England and Wales, four people received the maximum £1,000 fine for non-compliance at the last census in 2011, while a further 270 people were fined an average of £218.”The Census application should take some 10 minutes to complete and it can be completed online or via paper form. After Census Day, at the end of March and into April, Census field officers will visit households who have not submitted their Census forms.
If you need help completing the Census2021, virtual drop-in sessions take place today and tomorrow in various languages.It’s an offence to supply false information or not to complete the census, and you could be fined up to £1,000.The Census website also states you must make sure you answer about your household “as you expect it to be on Census Day, Sunday, March 21, 2021”.