Don’t forget to get 2021 Census done

IT’S the weekend, and you’ll be hoping to catch up on all those chores you’ve been meaning to tackle but haven’t had the time.

As well as sorting out your car insurance or sending off for something for your garden, it’s important you remember something else: the 2021 Census.

The survey aims to provide a snapshot of life, which can be used by organisations to help make sure they provide the right services for people. This year’s will cast a light on how coronavirus has affected everything from our health to our finances, according to the Office for National Statistics. Census day this year will be on Sunday and people are being asked to fill the survey out online using an access code sent in the post.

You can do this on a computer or tablet and should submit the survey on Sunday, or as soon as possible afterwards.

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not fill it in, or give false information. For the first time, there will be voluntary questions on gender identity and on sexual orientation for over-16s.

However, the question “What is your sex?” has proved controversial. The ONS had to change its supporting guidance after the campaign group Fair Play For Women argued it was “unlawful” that people were initially told they could use the sex recorded on their passport to answer the question, as this can be changed without a legal process.

The High Court has now ruled that the online guidance must make it clear the question can only be answered by reference to a birth certificate or gender recognition certificate, a document which allows trans people to change their legal gender. The ONS has agreed to use revised guidance and Fair Play For Women has agreed to drop its case.