Census 2031: consultation on content for England and Wales – update

We ran a consultation between 28 October 2025 and 4 February 2026, setting out our initial view on topics to collect in Census 2031. This was based on our knowledge of user needs from previous engagement and consultations. The main purpose of the consultation was to provide evidence to support decisions about which topics should be included in Census 2031. Further details can be found in our Census 2031: Consultation on content for England and Wales document (PDF,1,334 KB).

This update includes information on:

• who our respondents were
• how we communicated the consultation to our users
• how we will carry out our analysis of the responses and assure our recommendations
• our next steps

We are working through a full evaluation of all the responses, using our Census 2031: evaluation criteria for topics and content report. We will publish the results of our analysis later in 2026 – this will include information on the topics we plan to develop further for Census 2031 in England and Wales.

We would like to thank everybody who shared their views by responding to the topic consultation. The responses are helping us prioritise the collection of information that provides the greatest public good, while taking into account operational requirements and feasibility.

We received 722 responses to the consultation; 287 were on behalf of organisations and 435 were individuals.

We asked organisations to select from a list the sector(s) that best described their industry. They were able to select more than one sector in response to this question. The most commonly selected sector was “Local or regional government” (164), this was followed by “Individual member of the public” (162), and “Charity or community sector” (147).

The number of responses by sector, selected by respondents based on the categories provided in the consultation questionnaire, were:

• UK government department - 28

• Devolved government - 8

• Non-departmental public body or government agency - 13 

• Local or regional government - 164 

• Public service (for example, a school or police force) - 15 

• Academia or research - 78 

• NHS board or health organisation - 33 

• Housing - 14 

• Charity or community sector - 147 

• Commercial or private sector - 44

• Journalism or media - 5 

• Genealogical or family history - 50 

• Individual member of the public - 162 

• Other - 105

We used a range of channels to promote the consultation, including:

• a news release in English and Welsh
• a blog post
• social media posts
• newsletters
• emails to stakeholders in a range of sectors – these included government departments, local authorities, public bodies, housing, civil society, and charities

We also asked our stakeholders to raise awareness of the consultation via their networks.

In November 2025, we ran a public webinar that was attended by a range of stakeholders across various sectors. These stakeholders included public bodies, charities and voluntary organisations, academia, and local government. This was recorded and later made available on YouTube and shared as a resource.

In addition to informing relevant All Party Parliamentary Groups and MPs about the consultation, Office for National Statistics (ONS) representatives attended Evidence Week in Parliament on 4 November 2025. They promoted the consultation with parliamentarians, researchers and policymakers, and they answered questions.

We contributed to articles, blogs, newsletters, and forums (including posts on StatsUserNetwork). We talked about the consultation at third-party events and webinars, such as:

• Data Bites
• the Local Knowledge and Intelligence Service online seminar
• the Welsh Statistical Liaison Committee
• a Royal Statistical Society roundtable

We engaged the Government Statistical Service (GSS), represented by Heads of Profession across government departments, through emails and meetings in September and October 2025 and January 2026. The consultation was further promoted to GSS members across departments via materials, through our presence at the GSS conference in November 2025, and in the GSS newsletter and GSS social channels.

A series of reminders were issued to alert users to the closing date, including a further news release.

All feedback received through our consultation responses and wider engagement will be analysed using a mixed methods approach, following the moderation of responses in line with the moderation policy. This is outlined in Annex B of our Census 2031: Consultation on content for England and Wales document (PDF,1,334 KB).

Evaluation criteria

As described in our publication Census 2031: evaluation criteria for topics and content report, each topic will be evaluated against each criterion under the following headings:

• User requirements criteria - this will remain the most important criteria for evaluation
• Operational requirements criteria - this can strengthen the case for inclusion of topics, especially if a topic is thought to improve coverage
• Other considerations criteria - this, together with the user requirements evidence, will help guide development of the census questionnaire and the continued development of statistics based on administrative data

Evidence collected from consultation responses, and wider engagement, is being evaluated against the user requirements criteria to inform the selection of topics for inclusion in Census 2031. Wider evidence, such as operational evidence from Census 2021, is being used to assess criteria relating to operational requirements and other considerations. This will be described in further detail in the full reports on the consultation published later in 2026.

Scoring evidence by topic

All evidence received through consultation responses and wider engagement during the consultation period, prior to the publication of our Census 2031 evaluation criteria, will be analysed by topic and scored against a consistent framework. The framework provides guidance for analysts on how to score evidence against each of the user requirements criteria, on a scale from 0 to 10. Once scores have been synthesised for each topic, they will undergo weighting to ensure the relative importance of each criterion is reflected in findings.

Scoring for the operational requirements and other considerations criteria will draw upon wider evidence, described further in the full consultation reports published later in 2026.

Assurance

Scores produced by the evaluation process will be assured by a range of groups:

• Office for National Statistics (ONS) teams applying scoring will benchmark scores to ensure consistency in the application of the criteria across topics
• ONS topic experts will provide initial comment and advice on the scoring for each topic group to ensure there are no misunderstandings or gaps in the user needs identified
• the National Statistician’s Expert User Advisory Committee (NSEUAC) will be asked to review recommendations from the analysis, based on the evidence collected; they will comment on whether they are aligned to their understanding of the main user needs across policy areas
• the outcomes will be assured by a cross-ONS assurance panel of senior colleagues, assuring decisions on moderation, scoring outcomes, and proposed future work plans

Outcomes will be reflected in consultation reports publishing later in 2026.

We will publish a full report on the consultation later in 2026. This will outline our updated view on topics to take forward for development for Census 2031. Some topics may require further work to determine suitability.

We will continue to engage with users as we progress to content development (including question design, testing, and rehearsal) in line with our Census 2031 Strategy for England and Wales.

The final questionnaire content for England and Wales will be confirmed by Parliament in secondary legislation.

Evidence from the consultation will also be available to other Office for National Statistics (ONS) teams where relevant, for example, to inform the prioritisation of work on reviewing harmonised standards, or on the continuous improvement of the population statistics system.

Separate censuses are conducted in Scotland and Northern Ireland. National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) recently conducted their own respective consultations on content. The three census offices work closely together and will continue to do so to develop a set of questions that, wherever possible, deliver outputs that are comparable or coherent across the UK.