Collecting the information

It is proposed that pre-addressed questionnaires will be posted out to most households using national address lists. This was trialled in the 2007 Census Test. A variety of enumeration strategies will be tested to address coverage in hard-to-count groups. These include hand-delivery of forms and increased enumeration resources in the most difficult areas.

Plans are for the innovative 2001 Census Community Liaison Programme to be further developed and to establish contact with relevant groups and agencies. This Programme involves close co-operation with local authorities and the range of regional, community and neighbourhood institutions with whom the Office for National Statistics do business. This co-operation would continue to provide a prime source for gathering information on local population sub-groups, and for helping to build more complete and up to date address lists for the conduct of the 2011 enumeration.

The proposal to post out questionnaires to most households would require a nationwide publicity campaign. That campaign would initially be targeted at addressing the lack of face-to-face contact in the delivery phase, and explaining what the public should expect. This message would be supported by clear assurances about confidentiality and security.

Dedicated call centres would provide advice on form completion, and could take details from householders who had not received a questionnaire. Call centre staff would update address list information and form-tracking details before posting out uniquely referenced forms.

Current proposals are that questionnaires could be returned to the census offices in any one of three ways:

completed and posted back by 'householders'
completed and submitted online
completed via a telephone interview