Sunday 20th March is officially Scotland’s Census Day. Every person in the country must be counted in this once-in-a-decade survey.
The census collects information that helps the Scottish Government and other organizations to ensure that they provide the right services for people.
Census letters have been issued to more than 2.7 million households, representing 5.5 million people.
More than one million households have already completed the survey.
The census records information about the country on a particular day. It takes place every ten years, usually in a year that ends with a number one.
Provides a snapshot of the population, including its size and the age of individuals.
The census has been taken in Scotland every decade since 1801. This year marks the first time the census has been postponed since 1941, during World War II.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland went ahead with their plan for 2021, but the Scottish government opted to defer their census for a year due to the Covid disruption.
The census asks questions about a variety of topics, including the types of housing people live in, family relationships, age, gender, health, and employment status.
The information provided is used by charities and services such as hospitals, schools, universities and workplaces to plan and fund services including transportation, education and health care.
It helps plan for future infrastructure, as well as giving a breakdown of Scotland’s population and ethnic composition.
It can tell authorities where additional services may be needed for an older population of older people, where mental health services may be needed, or if a particular area has unemployment problems.
It is a legal responsibility to complete the census. Everyone must complete or be counted in the census. You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t complete it or give false information.
But you do not need to answer the questions marked as voluntary.
People staying in the UK for less than three months do not have to complete a census, but everyone else must be covered by one, including students and those who have gone abroad for less than a year.
- The Scottish census was delayed a year by the coronavirus
- Women’s group tries to block gender changes in the census
If you completed a census elsewhere in the UK in 2021, you still need to complete the 2022 census for Scotland.
Households can submit their forms or complete them online starting February 28. But the answers have to reflect the circumstances of the household on Census Day itself.
You can be prosecuted if you refuse to complete it, fail to answer a question, or provide false information.
New questions for the 2022 census include whether people use British Sign Language (BSL), what passports they have and previous history in the armed forces.
New voluntary questions on sexual orientation and trans status have been included. The census guide allows people to identify themselves as male or female, regardless of what is listed on their birth certificate.
This question faced a legal challenge from the group Fair Play for Women who claimed that this violated existing legal definitions of sex and gender.
However, a Scottish judge dismissed the challenge saying that an answer given in “good faith and on reasonable grounds” should not be considered false.
Each household has been sent a letter with instructions on how to complete the census. Paper forms can be requested, but this is expected to be the first year most census forms are completed online.
The letter contains a unique access code that will allow you to log in to do this. You can start your census form here.
The Census website also includes a video tutorial on how to complete the form.
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