A census of England and Wales should be carried out in 2031, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
In 2023, the ONS launched a consultation on proposals to abolish the census, replacing it with more continuous use of administrative data such as tax, benefit and border data to gather information on the population.
In its recommendations on the future of population and migration statistics in England and Wales, which has now been published, the ONS said: “[I]t is apparent from responses… that the time is not yet ripe to forego a whole-population questionnaire-based census.”
It therefore said it would recommend that the government commissions and resources the ONS to begin preparations for a questionnaire-based census of England and Wales in 2031.
The census would be digital-first and its delivery would make use of technological developments including artificial intelligence.
The ONS also said that the government should “ensure coherence across the UK”, including a shared data-collection platform with Scotland and Northern Ireland, subject to their decisions about the census.
A national census of the UK has been carried out every 10 years since 1841, apart from in 1941 due to the Second World War.
In its report into the findings of the 2023 consultation, which it has also now published, the ONS said that consultation respondents “showed widespread support for the continued development of a system that increasingly uses administrative data” but the majority “were not yet convinced of the ability of administrative datasets to fully replace traditional data collection, such as the census”.
The report also noted: “Genealogists and family researchers told us that the detailed data currently provided by a traditional census is essential for future generations to understand their ancestry. They noted that the use of administrative data will likely not capture adequate detail required about household structure and family relationships.”
