Census consultations

The investment of time and resources in a national census can only be justified if the results are accessible to users and meet their needs. This involves wide consultation in accordance with the principles and practices set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Work on the census will also be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided in the Protocol on Customer Services and User Consultation, which was one of twelve protocols originally published to support the principles set out in the previous National Statistics Code of Practice.

The main objective of the 2011 Census is to provide high quality population statistics as required by a wide range of users including policy makers, service providers, academics, commercial enterprises and the general public. To achieve this, ONS is consulting widely with users to make sure our population estimates are relevant and practical for them to use.  Consultation is now focusing on outputs and we are inviting users to provide feedback through a series of online consultations over the next twelve months. These will allow users to help us define the statistical and specialist products that will be produced from the 2011 census. Click the links below to view our current and closed consultations:

View open consultations

View closed consultations

Give us your views

Consultation activities include specific arrangements for users to submit comments for review and further discussion. However, Census Customer Services invites comments on any aspect of the census at any time from individuals, communities, user groups and organisations. We welcome your feedback and will consider this carefully in our census plans.