Our approach

1.1 For this third and final stage of our Assessment, we split our work into two strands:

• A review of ONS’s Census 2021 outputs against the Code of Practice for Statistics, with particular consideration of the extent to which the outputs have met user needs.
• A review of ONS’s progress towards any outstanding commitments it made in response to the census Phase 2 requirements (as outlined in Annex 1).

1.2 This report was prepared by an Assessment team composed of OSR statistics regulators. The team conducted desk research and engaged with key stakeholders and users to gather its findings.

Desk research

1.3 We carried out desk-based research, which involved reviewing the outputs over the course of 2024 to confirm their accessibility, means of dissemination and methodological information, as well as many of the supporting resources, reference materials and assurance mechanisms that ONS published alongside the outputs.

1.4 These findings were complemented by information that ONS shared with the OSR Assessment team, which focused on the progress it had made against each of the census Phase 2 requirements. We also conducted a range of interviews with the ONS census team to discuss our findings and seek further insight. We thank ONS and its staff for their cooperation during this process

User engagement

1.5 In developing this report, we spoke to users of the Census 2021 outputs for England and Wales. OSR conducted 25 interviews with a range of users of the Census 2021 outputs from government departments, local authorities, charities and academia. These included those with a statistical background, researchers, policy developers and non-expert interested stakeholders.

1.6 The information collected in this interview process complemented that gathered in an online survey that OSR ran in the summer of 2024 for Census 2021 output users, which received 80 responses relevant to England and Wales. The online survey was advertised on OSR’s website and also sent by email to known users of ONS’s statistics. It was run alongside a survey seeking feedback from users on the 2021 Northern Ireland Census outputs.

1.7 The graphs below show a breakdown of the type of users that responded to the online survey and engaged with us directly in interviews. These graphs show that we heard from a diverse user group, ensuring that we captured a wide range of user views.

Survey responses by type

Users interviewed

Download the data used in these charts (Excel download)