Parliament approves the next census « Scotland's Census: Shaping Our Future

28.04.2010 Parliament approves the next census

The Scottish Parliament has confirmed that census day 2011, one of the most important days of the next decade, will take place on Sunday 27 March after MSPs approved the questions that will be asked of the country’s five million residents.

As Scotland’s biggest survey, the census is used to produce national and neighbourhood statistics that help to decide how billions of pounds worth of public services, like health, housing, education and transport, are planned and provided.

MSPs today approved proposals that the 2011 Census will ask 13 household questions and up to 35 questions for each individual. These questions were selected following six years of research and consultation, led by census organiser the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS).

Registrar General Duncan Macniven, who is overseeing the preparations for the census, said:

“With each census we seek to build and improve on the previous one. We do this by means of extensive research, consultation and feedback from MSPs. As a result, I believe that we now have the best census possible for 2011 and a process that will serve our successors well.

“With less than a year to go we will now focus on making the arrangements to collect information about everyone who is in Scotland on 27 March 2011. The day will also make history as it will mark the first time that householders will be able to fill in their census questionnaire online.

“People should be reassured that the information they provide, either online or through the conventional paper questionnaires, will be kept private for 100 years, just as we have done for all the previous censuses.

“The census is relevant to all our lives as what is done with the results can be seen all around us: from the funding of hospitals and schools to the planning of future transport projects.”

In what will be one of the biggest logistical undertakings by the public sector in Scotland, the coming months will see around 6,000 temporary census takers being recruited and trained, questionnaires will be printed for every household and help and support will be made available for those who need it.

The draft Census Order was considered by the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee which recommended that the draft Census (Scotland) Order be approved in today’s plenary session. The approved Census (Scotland) Order 2010 is available in draft form from the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website. The final step is for the draft Order to be confirmed by the Privy Council.

The following revisions were made to the draft Order during its Parliamentary consideration:

Household income: the proposed question was removed to ensure that all census questions were acceptable to the public
Central heating (Q H9): a write-in box was added to the 'other central heating' option, so that respondents can record renewable forms of heating
Current religion (Q13): The revised wording makes clear that people can write in their Christian denomination if they are not Roman Catholic or Church of Scotland. The 'Pagan' tick box has been removed and, as in 2001, Pagans can use the write-in box to specify their religion.
National identity (Q14): Tick boxes have been added for ‘Welsh’ and ‘Northern Irish’. The tick boxes for 'Polish' and 'Indian' have been deleted but a write-in box is provided for people of these, and any other, national identities. People can still select as many national identities as they wish.
Ethnic group (Q15): The revised wording replaces the 'African, Caribbean or Black' category by two separate categories - 'African' and 'Caribbean or Black'. In the 'White' category, an ‘Other British’ tick box replaces separate tick boxes for English/Welsh/Northern Irish, although people can use the 'Other, please write in' box if, for example, they wish to specify English ethnicity.
Long-term health conditions (Q20):The response options in Q20 have been revised slightly, to make it easier for respondents who have learning/developmental type disorders to know which box to tick. Firstly, ‘developmental disorder’ has been separated into a category of it’s own. Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome have been added as examples to help guide respondents.

Examples have also been added to ‘a learning disability’ (Down’s Syndrome) and ‘a learning difficulty’ (dyslexia).