Data collection from communal establishments

FOI reference: FOI-2026-3724

You asked

I am seeking all information concerning the operational practice of ONS staff in reference to collecting data from adult citizens in establishments; principally care homes (Local Authority and private sector), mental health hospitals (NHS and private sector) and other hospitals. Please:

1) Detail precisely the methodology, process and tools (forms if they differ, inclusive of alternative versions) used to collect this data.

2) Provide the policy concerning access to residents. Detail whether and to what extent data is gained by means of individual interaction with each or at an establishment level.

3) Detail, if there were any, and if so the number of concerns raised (reported to LA, CQC etc) upon visits to any establishments in the 2021 census.

We said

Thank you for your request. 

Taking your first two questions together: 

We do not collect data directly from residents in establishments as part of our regular data collection through surveys.

However, for the census, we collect information directly from residents in establishments as well as households. This response will outline how data were collected in previous censuses, particularly Census 2021. Data collection in 2021 was affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and restrictions in place in England and Wales. The impact of the pandemic on our planning is set out in our 2020 publication Coronavirus and the operational impact on Census 2021. This response relates to the operation as conducted in 2021.

The policy and operation for Census 2031 in England and Wales are still being developed.

Each census includes both the main census data collection operation and the Census Coverage Survey (CCS), a voluntary survey of around 1.5% of addresses that helps us to turn census returns into accurate estimates about the population.

For both the main census data collection and the CCS, our operation has typically treated households and "communal establishments" (CEs) separately, with the CCS only collecting data directly from small CEs. CEs include care homes and hospitals – however, the category also includes other residence types such as hotels, prisons, student halls of residence, and military establishments.  

Main census data collection operation

The Census 2021 general report for England and Wales (available for download on the ONS website) includes a full list of CEs and a high-level description of the different approaches to data collection for the different types of establishment (see Section 4.9). 

In 2021 and previous recent censuses, data have been collected about each CE through a CE manager questionnaire and then about each resident through an individual questionnaire. In 2021, these could be completed online or on paper.

Specimens of the paper questionnaires can be found on our Census 2021 paper questionnaires webpage -- including household and individual questionnaires. The individual questionnaire was used for CE residents, but could also be used by residents in households (who could use an individual questionnaire to answer separately from their household). While the household questionnaire asks about the household's accommodation and relationships between residents, the individual questionnaire asked whether the respondent lived in a CE or a household and, if applicable, their position in the CE (for example, whether resident or staff).

Help and guidance was provided on the census webpage for both CE managers and residents in CEs. This can be accessed through the Government Web Archive: [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Communal establishments – Census 2021.

Most of the Census 2021 engagement for CEs was therefore with CE managers. The level of engagement varied depending on type of CE. For the types of establishment explicitly mentioned in your request (care homes and hospitals), the ONS's census officers did not engage directly with respondents for the main census data collection.

Census Coverage Survey

Data collection for the Census Coverage Survey differed by size of CE. For small CEs (in 2021 this was those with fewer than 50 residents) data were collected through a face-to-face survey. Other methods were used for larger CEs that did not include face-to-face data collection.  

In 2021, the CCS included 193 small CEs. Initial engagement with the CE was with the managers of small CEs. Our online guidance page for CE residents taking part in the CCS is archived online on the Government Web Archive: [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Your data and security: Census Coverage Survey interviews in communal establishments – Census 2021.  

To collect data from residents, census officers used a bespoke CCS questionnaire, containing core demographic questions. The questionnaire is included as a PDF download as part of this response. Interviewers also carried "showcards" that could be shown to residents to help them to answer some questions (those marked with a number in a diamond in the CCS questionnaire). These showcards displayed definitions or question response options from the questionnaire.  

Residents were also able to complete the CCS by telephone. 

The slides in the associated PDF download from our "Doorstep Review" show the policy on interviewers entering CEs in the 2021 CCS. It stresses that this would be done in line with the rules of the establishment.  

Other data sources

In addition to the information provided about the ONS's direct collection from the establishment types included in the request, the ONS also uses datasets that have already been collected by other public bodies for another purpose. These are collected by those bodies and shared with the ONS to use for its functions (primarily the production of official statistics), as a secondary use or user, under the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

We do not have any record of incidents or concerns being raised or reported relating to visits by census staff to the establishments referred to in your request.