How the information is kept confidential
The confidentiality of personal information is of paramount importance. The census forms are collected and processed in secure conditions, and the Census Confidentiality Act 1991 gives legal protection by making the unauthorised disclosure of personal census information an offence.
Measures are also taken to protect against the inadvertent disclosure of information about identifiable individuals through the statistical results of the census.
A digital image of each 2001 Census form is captured for processing. A microfilm version will be retained in strict confidentiality to be released after 100 years as a public record of great interest to family historians. The paper forms will be pulped and recycled.
