Policy background
The twenty-second national census is planned to take place in March 2021 across the United Kingdom, subject to Parliamentary approval. The census is a devolved matter. The three census offices of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England and Wales) work closely to ensure the three censuses together provide comparable statistics on the UK population.
	The information the census provides on the population, including their characteristics, education, religion, ethnicity, working life, housing and health, gives decision-makers in national and local government, community groups, charities and businesses the opportunity to better serve communities and individuals in the United Kingdom. Information derived from the census helps to inform policy, plan services, and distribute resources effectively to local and health authorities and enable these resources to be directed to where they are needed.
	Completion of the census is mandatory across the United Kingdom. With the exception of questions on religion or (in Northern Ireland) religious profession, refusal to answer census questions is a criminal offence and subject to a penalty.
	This Act makes amendments to the Census Act 1920 and Census Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 to remove the criminal penalty for refusing or neglecting to respond to any census questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in the England and Wales and Northern Ireland censuses. This will ensure that if these questions are asked in future censuses (by inclusion in future Census Orders, which will be subject to separate Parliamentary scrutiny) they are voluntary. In particular, anyone who does not wish to provide information on their sexual orientation and gender identity in future censuses in England and Wales and/or Northern Ireland would not thereby be committing a criminal offence by refusing or neglecting to answer these questions.
	In the interests of clarity, accessibility and legal certainty, the Act also adds both matters to the Schedules of the 1920 and 1969 Acts as specific matters on which census questions may be asked. In England and Wales only, matters individually listed in the Schedule are subject to a different Parliamentary procedure to those which are not listed individually. Those not listed fall under the general category in paragraph 6 of the Schedule. This amendment will change the applicable procedure, such that the approval of any questions relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in future Census Orders will be subject only to the draft negative procedure. The secondary legislation, needed to enable a census to take place, will set out the full proposed content of the 2021 Census.