Ministers back down on census sex

BRITONS will not face fines and a criminal record if they refuse to answer intrusive questions about their sex lives in the 2021 Census.

Ministers will say today that Office for National Statistics inspectors will not ask sexual orientation questions in the decennial population count.

Adults will not have to say whether they are homosexual, bisexual, straight or transsexual. A second question on gender identity will also be voluntary.

The ONS had originally proposed as an option in a consultation to make the questions compulsory, although it later said they should be voluntary. Under the 1920 Census Act, it is not possible to ask questions that are voluntary with the exception of religion.

Refusing to comply with the Census requirements to fill in the form and answer all the questions is currently a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to £1,000 and a criminal record.

Census officials have powers to conduct formal interviews under caution under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act for those who refuse to answer questions.

However ministers will announce today that the questions on sexual orientation and gender identity will be voluntary. Members of the public will be able to tick a “prefer not to say” box or simply ignore the two questions and not fill them in.

Ministers will also today propose changes to the 1920 Census Act legally allowing the ONS to ask voluntary questions for the first time as part of the plans.

This should ensure that the sexual orientation and gender questions are voluntary in future censuses in 2021, 2031 and beyond.

A Whitehall source said: “Ministers have stepped in to rein back these state sex-snoopers.

“The Census has important uses to help deliver public services, but no one should be forced to reveal details about their sex lives if they don’t want to.

“New laws will safeguard the privacy of every family in the country from nosy questions.”

In the original consultation, the ONS had proposed making the question about sexual orientation mandatory, voluntary or removed altogether.

An ONS spokesman declined to comment last night, saying that it had “presented recommendations to the Government and the Government must announce those”.

Censuses, which record information about every citizen, have taken place across the United Kingdom every 10 years for the last 200 years, with the first one being held in 1801.

Research by the ONS found that 30 per cent of the surveyed population did not support the inclusion of the new sex questions.

Issues could also have been caused with 16- and 17-year-olds living at home with their parents being forced to tell their parents whether or not they are homosexual.

‘No one should be forced to reveal details about their sex lives if they don’t want to’