The Census in England and Wales
The UK Statistics Authority has statutory responsibility for carrying out the census in England and Wales. The Government published a White Paper, Help Shape our Future: The 2021 Census of Population and Housing in England and Wales1 in December 2018 (‘the White Paper’), setting out the UK Statistics Authority’s detailed proposals for the census in England and Wales.
	The UK Statistics Authority’s proposals for the 2021 Census follow a programme of public consultation, stakeholder engagement, and research and testing. As a result of this consultation and testing, the UK Statistics Authority recommends new questions on sexual orientation and gender identity are asked in the 2021 Census for England and Wales to meet the need for better quality information for equality monitoring and public service provision. Further detail on the consultation and testing that informed the proposal to include new questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in the next England and Wales census can be found in the White Paper in paragraphs 3.34 – 3.54.
	Due to the sensitive nature of these questions, both the UK Statistics Authority and Government believe they should be voluntary, ensuring that no-one is required to answer these questions if they do not wish to. The White Paper therefore stated that the Government and UK Statistics Authority would consider how to ensure this was the case (paragraphs 3.45 and 3.54). This Act achieves this by amending the principal census legislation for England and Wales to remove the criminal penalty for not responding to census questions on sexual orientation and gender identity.
	A binary, mandatory ‘sex’ question will continue to be included in the England and Wales census (What is your sex? Female/Male). A primary focus of the UK Statistics Authority’s testing of the inclusion of a gender identity question has been to ensure there is no risk to the quality of data collected about a person’s sex (male or female) in order to meet user needs for this data and to preserve data continuity. Further detail can be found in paragraphs 3.34 – 3.45 of the White Paper.