What happens if you don't? « Scotland's Census: Shaping Our Future

What happens if you don't?

People have a good reason for filling in the census questionnaire: it supports the planning and allocation of resources for future services. That is why it was unanimously approved by the Scottish Parliament last year. But we believe that the risk of prosecution is a further motivation for people to return the questionnaire and to demonstrate that there is a real risk of prosecution we will have a team of people working throughout Scotland proactively following up cases of non-compliance and referring people who refuse to take part to the Procurator Fiscal.

What’s the basic process for following up unreturned questionnaires?

1. Your census taker (enumerator) will visit to remind you to complete the questionnaire and offer help and advice to do so. If you’re out, they will leave a reminder card.

2. If the questionnaire is still not with us after seven days, your census taker will visit again and, if you’re out, will leave a second reminder card.

3. If you refuse to take part, that information will be forwarded to the census non-compliance team.

4. You will be sent a warning letter from the Registrar General Duncan Macniven. Warning letters are also issued to people who publicly state that they refuse to fill in a census and/or encourage others not to.

5. You may also be visited by census non-compliance officers and your case may be referred to the Procurator Fiscal. Successful prosecutions will result in a fine of up to £1,000 and a criminal record.

We aim to have completed questionnaires returned to us, not successful prosecutions. We will offer help and support and replacement questionnaires wherever possible. The information in each completed questionnaire is worth a lot to Scotland and people who live here. If the census misses anyone, you or someone you know could lose out.

You can read more about the law and the census in the Census Act 1920 and the Census (Scotland) Order 2010. Find out about how the help at hand to avoid a £1,000 fine.