Select Language
Top 25 Census FAQs
Select Language
Below are the 25 most frequently asked questions about the census. If your question is not answered, try checking the full list of census FAQs.
The census is a big and complex task. Its organiser, The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) held a rehearsal in west Edinburgh, Lewis and Harris in March 2009. The aim was to make sure that people understood the proposed census questions and to help us assess whether the questionnaire delivery and processing arrangements were suitable for the Scotland-wide census in 2011
Sunday 29th of March, 2009.
The census is organised by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), headed by the Registrar General, and overseen by professional statisticians. GROS works with the census offices for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to conduct the census on the same day and to provide comparable census results.
The census is held every 10 years and 2011 marks 150 years of GROS’s responsibility for it.
Governments, local authorities, business, academics and many other organisations use anonymised census results to plan ahead and meet our needs. It reflects our requirements as a nation, city, town or village, or as a group of people within each area. The results mean public services are properly planned and funded. The census results will matter to you, your children and your grandchildren.
For more information, please view our census timeline.
Yes. The census is strictly confidential. Secure arrangements to protect personal details are the foundation for Scotland’s Census.
Everyone working with personal census details is security checked and must sign an undertaking that they will protect the privacy of information. Data Protection legislation and census confidentiality legislation allows anyone who discloses personal census details to be prosecuted. Personal details are kept confidential for 100 years after each census, when they are then released.
The census itself is compulsory but the rehearsal is not. Taking part in the rehearsal is important however because it will help us to get the questions and arrangements for the census right for the whole of Scotland in 2011.
GROS will run the rehearsal as though it is a full census of west Edinburgh and Lewis and Harris. Most importantly, the same levels of data protection and census confidentiality legislation apply. There are some differences however.
Firstly, there is a legal requirement to complete the 2011 Census, whereas participation in the rehearsal is not compulsory. Taking part in the rehearsal is important however because it will help us to get the questions and arrangements for the census right for the whole of Scotland in 2011.
Census data is kept confidential for 100 years after each census, when it is then released. However, rehearsal records will not be made public.
A further difference is that while census results are usually published as anonymised statistics, the rehearsal data will only be used by GROS to assess how well its arrangements worked. That evaluation will help us to improve the questions and other arrangements before we recommend our approach to Parliament for approval in 2010.
Each census leaves a legacy: the facts and figures that help determine billions of pounds worth of funding for public services that matter to you. Services such as health, education and transport are planned and funded based on need. It is census results that help estimate that need. For example, knowing how many young children there are, and how many people are approaching retirement, helps to plan and fund future health services.
For more information, please view our census timeline.
West Edinburgh, Lewis and Harris have been chosen as rehearsal areas because together they will highlight to the General Register Office for Scotland how well its arrangements work in urban and rural areas. Lewis and Harris residents will test improvements for Gaelic speakers in particular. Responses from west Edinburgh will test the arrangements for people in communal establishments like student accommodation and care homes.
If you are completing the paper questionnaire, please use black or blue ink. Use capital letters, with a space between each word. Use a tick in boxes to indicate which response applies. Page 2 of the questionnaire provides additional guidance on how to complete the questionnaire, for example how to correct any mistakes. If you are completing the questionnaire online, follow the instructions given on screen.
In deciding which topics to cover we have consulted widely, and taken full account of Scottish circumstances. The cases made for specific topics by census users were balanced against the public acceptability of the questions, and whether or not they can be asked in a way that gives reliable information, and alternative methods of collecting information. The final decision on the questions to be included in the 2011 Census in Scotland will be taken by the Scottish Parliament.
There are questions about the household as a whole and about each person usually resident in the household. Additionally there is also space for basic information about visitors present on census night.
There are 14 questions about the household and its accommodation. Then there are 35 individual questions.
The census rehearsal will take place in west Edinburgh and Lewis and Harris. Postcodes within the following postcode sectors are included in the 2009 census rehearsal areas:
HS1 2
HS2 0
HS2 9
HS3 3
HS4 3
HS5 3
EH11 1
EH11 2
EH11 3
EH11 4
EH12 5
EH12 6
EH12 7
EH12 8
EH12 9
EH14 4
Questionnaires will be delivered between 13 March 2009 and 28 March 2009 in the census rehearsal areas. If you have not received a questionnaire by 29 March 2009 please contact us using the Electronic Contact Facility, the census helpline or textphone service.
A dedicated Census Helpline and textphone will be available in 2011. For all census enquiries in the meantime please contact the General Register Office switchboard: 0131 334 0380
You can complete the questionnaire online as this website has been designed to conform to usability and accessibility standards. Alternatively, we can provide you with a large print questionnaire. Please ask your enumerator, contact us using the Electronic Contact Facility or call the Census Helpline or textphone.
A dedicated Census Helpline and textphone will be available in 2011. For all census enquiries in the meantime please contact the General Register Office switchboard: 0131 334 0380
The questions have been translated into British Sign Language (BSL) and video clips are available on this site. These clips can be viewed either when completing the questionnaire online or as an aid when completing your paper questionnaire.
Translations of the census questions are available in the following languages:
Arabic
Bengali
Cantonese
Farsi
Tagalog
French
Hindi
Polish
Punjabi
Turkish
Urdu
These can be downloaded from this site or a paper version can be obtained by using the Electronic Contact Facility.
Alternatively, contact the Census Helpline or textphone.
A dedicated Census Helpline and textphone will be available in 2011. For all census enquiries in the meantime please contact the General Register Office switchboard: 0131 334 0380
Additional language support is also available by contacting the census helpline on the numbers above.
Yes. Everyone born before midnight on census rehearsal night (29 March) should be included on the questionnaire, even if they are still in hospital and have not yet returned home.
Yes, the census should be completed by all regardless of nationality.
The householder or a responsible member of the household should take responsibility for ensuring the accurate completion of your questionnaire and sign the declaration on the front page. Anyone completing an individual questionnaire should sign the declaration on the front page of that questionnaire.
We call this type of accommodation a "communal establishment". Special arrangements have been made for the enumeration of large communal establishments. If you require further information please contact the Census Helpline or textphone.
A dedicated Census Helpline and textphone will be available in 2011. For all census enquiries in the meantime please contact the General Register Office switchboard: 0131 334 0380.
Everyone who is temporarily away from their permanent or family home on 29 March 2009 should be counted as usually living at that address and included in questions H1 - H3, H6 - H14 and individual questions 1 - 38. If all household members are absent on the night of 29 March 2009, a questionnaire should be completed upon their return. If anyone temporarily away from their permanent or family home is staying the night on 29 March 2009 at another address which is included in the Census Rehearsal, they should be included in questions H4, H5 and V1 - V4 on the questionnaire at that address.
Only household questionnaires, for addresses held on our database and supplied with an Internet Access Code, can be completed online. This questionnaire must include full details of everyone in the household.
For security reasons any other questionnaires must be completed on paper.
There will not be any published statistics from the rehearsal. The information will only be used to evaluate the rehearsal and carry out further research. No information that could identify individuals will be disclosed.
