Census 2031 topic consultation

Overview

This consultation is also available in Welsh.

About the Census 2031 topic consultation 

Information about the population of England and Wales is vital for the functioning of our society. It informs decisions about public services and helps us understand the economy, public health and inequality.  

Building on our understanding of user needs from the 2023 consultation on the future of population and migration statistics, and from extensive engagement with stakeholders over the past decade, we invite you to respond to this consultation to inform decisions on which topics are included in the next census.  

This consultation, which runs until 4 February 2026, represents the next stage in our ongoing engagement with users of population statistics as we prepare for Census 2031. Following the consultation, we will continue to seek stakeholder views to support the development of census questions and census outputs. 

Responses to this consultation will also be used for the secondary purpose of informing other relevant work within the ONS that goes beyond the Census 2031. This includes the prioritisation of administrative-based statistics and the ongoing review of the Government Statistical Service’s harmonised standards for data collection. 

Why your views matter

Thank you for your feedback so far; we greatly value your insights and appreciate your ongoing engagement. Your continued input will help ensure Census 2031 reflects the changing needs of people, communities and organisations across England and Wales. By taking part in this consultation, you’ll help shape the topics we include; so the data we collect supports better decisions, stronger communities, and a clearer picture of how people live and work.  

What we are asking 

We’d like to hear about how you use census data and your requirements for topic data from Census 2031. 

For each of the 13 census topic groups, we will ask about: 

• the purposes you use census data for 

• your requirements for Census 2031 data 

• how you use census data at small geographies, to understand small populations, to make comparisons over time and across geographies 

• how you compare census data with other census variables (multivariate analysis) 

Similar questions are asked for new topics that may be required for Census 2031. 

Questions also ask about your requirements for data groupings (enumeration bases), communal establishments and harmonised standards. Information collected will also be used to inform priorities for administrative data and requirements for GSS harmonised standards. 

Alongside this topic consultation, we are also consulting on the harmonised standard for data collection on ethnicity. The purpose of this ethnicity consultation is to gather views on additional tick-box response options which may be required for the new standard. We expect the relevant census question to align to this standard in England and Wales. More information can be found on the related ethnicity harmonisation consultation page, which closes on 4 February 2026.  

How to respond 

The consultation document provides background information about this consultation, including topics and topic groups we are asking about, and what is already known about user needs for each of them. It also sets out how we are evaluating responses received, to support our recommendations.  

We welcome contributions from all census users, including those who are experienced users of census data and those who are looking to use census data for the first time. 

We strongly encourage you to respond by filling in the online questionnaire.  

You can also download the questionnaire and respond by email or post.  

Physical copies of the consultation document and questionnaire are available on request. Large print versions are also available. 

Responses and enquiries can be emailed to: Topic.Consultation@ons.gov.uk or sent by post at:  

ONS Consultations Team, Post Room, Office for National Statistics, Segensworth Road, Titchfield, Hampshire, PO15 5RR 

You can also call ONS Census Customer Services on 01329 444972.  

You are invited to respond by the closing date of 4 February 2026. 

We will publish a response to this consultation approximately 12 weeks after the consultation closing date. 

Confidentiality and data protection 

We aim to be as open as possible in our decision-making. As part of this we will publish the responses we receive. The names of responding organisations will be included along with their response, and where individual respondents provide the ONS with permission to publish their names, their names will also be included. You can view our data privacy policy.