Dear Jennet,

Thank you for your letter of 9 May 2022 requesting an alternative release time for the first release of Census 2021 data for England and Wales.

The requirements to lay the first Census results before Parliament will require additional time and I agree with your considerations about equality of access to these important data and statistics. I am therefore happy to approve your request for the first release of Census data at 11am.

In your letter you mentioned being open and transparent with users on the alternative release time and I would echo that sentiment as this helps maintain public confidence in the statistics. Please ensure that users of these statistics are alerted to their time of release, and that the reasons for the alternative release times are clearly outlined.

Yours sincerely

Ed Humpherson
Director General for Regulation

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Related links

Jennet Woolford to Ed Humpherson: Alternative release time for Census 2021 data in England and Wales