Government Statistical Service Harmonisation: Consultation on user needs for additional response options in a future ethnicity standard

Overview

This consultation is also available in Welsh.

This consultation asks your views on whether additional tick-box response options are required for a new ethnicity harmonised standard. It is part of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonisation team’s ongoing review of this standard. It is taking place alongside the Office for National Statistics (ONS) consultation on topics for Census 2031, which asks about user needs for ethnic group data alongside many other topics.

The new ethnicity harmonised standard will be recommended for use by data collectors across the GSS, including teams working on the next censuses in the UK. We expect the UK statistics organisations to consider this standard when developing questions. We expect the relevant census question to align to this standard in England and Wales. We will continue to work closely with teams across the UK to understand their requirements for the standard. Depending on the user needs of each UK nation, this may be delivered through a single version or a suite of harmonised questions.

The GSS harmonised standards are tools for improving the comparability and coherence of statistics. Harmonised standards include definitions, survey questions, suggested presentations of outputs and information for data users. When data collectors use the harmonised standards, they can effectively and accurately compare data that has been collected across different datasets. This means they can more easily understand what that data does, and does not, tell them. This ensures that statistics are being used to their full effect for the public good.

The current ethnicity harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions across the UK. The questions were reviewed and adjusted so they could be used in the 2021 Census for England and Wales, the 2021 Census for Northern Ireland, and the 2022 Census for Scotland. This means that the 2021 and 2022 census questions are currently the most up-to-date way of collecting data about ethnic groups. However, the question development for these approaches began in 2015 and user needs may have changed since then. 

Whilst the review is underway, the Harmonisation team advise that for new data collection that requires an ethnicity question, to use the questions from the:  

1. 2021 Census for England and Wales  

2. Current ethnicity harmonised standard for Northern Ireland  

3. 2022 Census for Scotland  

The question used in the 2021 Census for Northern Ireland has also been explored to fully understand user needs in Northern Ireland.

The Ethnicity harmonised standard is recommended to data collectors alongside questions about national identity and religion. When all three questions are used together, respondents are better enabled to give details about their full cultural identity. In Northern Ireland, the recommendation is to include five questions: Country of Birth, National Identity, Ethnic Group, Religion and Language, using the NI Census 2021 questions for Country of Birth and Language. 

England and Wales Census 2021 response options

White

• English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British
• Irish
• Gypsy or Irish Traveller
• Roma
• Any other White background (please specify)

Note, in Wales only, in the first tick-box, “Welsh” is first, “Welsh, English, Scottish, Northern Irish or British”, while in England, “English” is first.

Mixed or Multiple ethnic group

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Any other Mixed or Multiple background (please specify)

Asian or Asian British

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Chinese
• Any other Asian background (please specify)

Black, Black British, Caribbean or African

• Caribbean
• African (please specify)
• Any other Black British or Caribbean background (please specify)

Other ethnic group

• Arab
• Any other ethnic group (please specify)

Northern Ireland Census 2021 response options

• White
• Irish Traveller
• Indian
• Black African
• Chinese
• Roma
• Filipino
• Black Other
• Mixed ethnic group (please write in)
• Any other ethnic group (please write in)

 Scotland Census 2022 response options

White

• Scottish
• Other British
• Irish
• Polish
• Gypsy or Traveller
• Roma
• Showman or Showwoman
• Other white ethnic group (please specify)

Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups (please specify)

Asian, Scottish Asian, or British Asian

• Pakistani, Scottish Pakistani, or British Pakistani
• Indian, Scottish Indian, or British Indian
• Bangladeshi, Scottish Bangladeshi, or British Bangladeshi
• Chinese, Scottish Chinese, or British Chinese
• Other (please specify)

African, Scottish African, British African (please specify)

Caribbean or Black (please specify)

Other ethnic group

• Arab, Scottish Arab, or British Arab
• Other (please specify)

Why your views matter

The GSS has identified a need to update the standard for ethnicity data so that statistics can provide more detailed and inclusive data, reflecting the diversity of the UK population. A portion of this work includes considering the response options available, and importantly those not available, within the current ethnicity standard. This includes seeking and balancing input from communities and respondents alongside the needs of data users to inform response options available. We will use the responses from this consultation to prioritise the addition of tick boxes which meet the greatest user need, while balancing clarity, data quality and acceptable respondent burden.

We invite your views on the way that different ethnic groups are represented in the current standard, and what needs you have for additional ethnic group tick boxes.

Who should take part

These consultation questions are aimed at any organisation or individual who would like to request the addition of new response options for the ethnicity harmonised standard. It’s vital that the data we collect best meets the needs of our users. We would like to hear from you to understand your needs for data on additional ethnic groups, and what you will use these data for. 

How to respond

To contribute, please complete the online questionnaire at the bottom of this page by the closing date of 4 February 2026. We strongly encourage you to complete the consultation questionnaire online. You can also download the questionnaire and respond by email or post.

When you start the questionnaire, please answer all the questions and provide as much detail as you can.

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

Enquiries can be sent to harmonisation@statistics.gov.uk, or by post at:

ONS Consultations Team
Post Room
Office for National Statistics
Segensworth Road
Fareham
PO15 5RR

You can also call ONS customer services on 01329 444 972.

If you have any questions or queries about the ethnicity harmonised standard more generally, please contact the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team at harmonisation@statistics.gov.uk.

Further detail on harmonisation

For users who would like more detail about the ethnicity harmonised standard, or information on any of our other standards, we would suggest taking a look at our current harmonisation webpages.

Confidentiality and data protection

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) needs your name and email address to receive your response. With your permission, we may contact you about your response to the consultation. We aim to be as open as possible in our decision-making process. All responses to the consultation will be published. The names of organisations that have responded will be included with their response, and where individuals provide the ONS with permission to publish their names for an individual response, these names will also be included. We will not publish personal contact details, such as email addresses.

To find out more, read our Privacy Policy. This consultation has been carried out in accordance with the government’s consultation principles. If you have any complaints about the way this consultation has been conducted, please email: harmonisation@statistics.gov.uk.