Recommendations

Recommendation 1: To continue to build on the positive user reception of its output delivery, NRS should carry forward the lessons learned from the 2022 census regarding user involvement in output design and delivery, and continue prioritising best practice when looking towards the 2031 census.

Recommendation 2: To ensure public confidence and maximise the value of future census outputs, NRS should engage more closely with expert users and special interest groups during question design and development. NRS should clearly communicate the impact of quality issues for use when and if these issues arise.

Recommendation 3: Building on the experience from the 2021/22 censuses and ahead of the 2031 Census, NRS should continue its close collaboration with other UK census offices to ensure coherent question design, shared learning, and transparent decisions, supporting UK-wide comparability while reflecting Scotland’s distinct needs and managing user expectations in planning for the 2031 Census.

Recommendation 4: To help improve the Flexible Table Builder ahead of the 2031 census, NRS should engage with users to identity ways to increase its functionality and accessibility so that future outputs can be analysed and interrogated by the widest possible range of users.

Recommendation 5: Ahead of Census 2031, NRS should continue to work closely with key users across local authorities who require data-zone-level data, including to advertise access to bespoke services and to provide guidance on the comparability of outputs at data zone level between local authority areas.