BRITS rushed to fill out and submit their census forms yesterday in a bid to meet the deadline. It takes places every 10 years with every household required to provide details of who lives or stays at the property and information about the house itself. Who has access to my census information? The Office for […]
BRITS rushed to fill out and submit their census forms yesterday in a bid to meet the deadline.
It takes places every 10 years with every household required to provide details of who lives or stays at the property and information about the house itself.
Read our Census 2021 live blog for the latest news, updates and useful tips…
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) plans and runs the census in England and Wales on behalf of the government.
Only carefully selected and staff can see personal census information.
It cannot be access or used by anyone else.
All information is anonymised and the actual census records are kept secure for 100 years.
Census records from more than 100 years ago can be accessed.
Historic census forms from 1841-1911 are available to view free on site at the National Archives in Kew.
They can also be found online at the National Archive’s official partner sites Ancestry.co.uk and Findmypast.co.uk,
These sites have transcribed records and loaded them on their websites – but a charge will be made for the services.
Census records from 1921 onwards, however, can’t yet be accessed.
The census is completed every 10 years to give a complete picture of the nation.
It allows for comparison between different groups of people across the country as everyone is asked the same questions.
The information supplied is used to help the government develop policies, plan and run public services, and allocate funding.
For example, details about how many people work in different occupations and industries will be used for things like new jobs and training policies.
The personal information you put on your census is only used for statistical purposes and you cannot be identified.
Personal information provided on the census will never be sold or shared with anyone.
It is against the law for anyone to share personal census information.
A note on the census website reads: “No one can be identified from the census and your information can never be used to target you.
“It would be against the law and contrary to our most important principle: to protect the confidentiality of all information.”
Everyone working on the census signs the Census Confidentiality Undertaking.
This includes people working for the census offices and for suppliers.
Your census record is kept secure for 100 years and only then can it be seen by future generations.
The ONS will hold and control data securely for 100 years, and will keep a data set of responses for the National Archives.
Data used by approved researchers will be held in its Secure Research Service.
The census website says: “Any personal data that we do not need, such as names and addresses, will be removed from the data set at the earliest opportunity.
“We will regularly review the data and delete them when they are no longer needed.”
