Census data is also set apart from most other sources through being mandatory - as well as having to be fit for purpose for main gov/academic etc uses, there's a moral need to make it accessible for all potential users

Census data users are diverse and vary significantly in their needs; to realise that national asset, we need to provide a variety of routes to make the data usable

Consultation doc mentions topics previously considered but not used (e.g. income), and topics used in England & Wales and/or NI, but not in Scotland

Finally - allows people to mention topics they think should be added to the census

Some admin sources are good, others more limited; some comes from surveys that are OK at national or regional scale, but sample not large enough for fine categories / small areas

BUT! Clear that admin data v much part of planning / implementation of census and important part of future pop data

The consultation doc is worth reading to understand the potential/limits of admin data - it lists current census topics and explains user need, and then summarises availability in non-census data

The Scottish Government have now launched a consultation on 2031 Census topics - this was mentioned in the announcement yesterday, but I think the link was missing from the initial version of the document (I don't know how quickly it was updated)

consult.gov.scot/national-rec...

As trailed in the blog, we have a hybrid day meeting co-arranged by UK Data Service, BSPS, CeLSIUS and ONS, hosted at UCL where we will be discussing the future of the UK demographic system - and the role of a 2031 census in that system

Register:

ukdataservice.ac.uk/events/the-f...