The law protects you
Access to personal census information that can identify households or individuals is strictly controlled.
The 1920 Census Act made it a criminal offence to unlawfully disclose confidential census information. The Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991 extended this to people and businesses working as part of the census. The penalties for unlawfully disclosing census information are a fine of up to £10,000, or a prison sentence of up to two years, or both.
No-one can get personal census information through a Freedom of Information request. This is set out in sections 38 and 58 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which states that personal census information is exempt from disclosure for 100 years.
The Data Protection Act 1998 controls how corporations or the government use your personal information. Its principles require everyone who collects data to follow strict rules to keep your information safe. At the heart of the Act are eight common-sense rules known as the ‘data protection principles’. These principles require any organisation, corporation or government body that collects personal information to handle it safely. You can get more information about this from the Information Commissioner’s Office website. By law, all organisations collecting and using personal information must comply with these principles.
For more information please see our Privacy and Confidentiality FAQs.
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