About the census : 2019 Rehearsal

To prepare for Census 2021, we at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently held a census rehearsal.

The rehearsal gave us a great chance to check our processes, systems and services were running smoothly ahead of the real thing. It took place in four local authority areas: Carlisle, Ceredigion, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Thank you if you took part

We’d like to say a big “thank you” if you filled in and submitted your census rehearsal questionnaire – we’re grateful for your time. You’ve played an important part in making Census 2021 a success.

Below is a message from Iain Bell, Deputy National Statistician and Director General for Population and Public Policy at the Office for National Statistics, to say thank you to all who took part in the census rehearsal.

What’s next?

We’re now starting to look back at how things went in the rehearsal to see if there’s anywhere we need to make improvements before the census in 2021.

We’re also holding a Census Coverage Survey rehearsal and we’ll soon be running a Census Quality Survey rehearsal. These are both smaller surveys that will take place in the same rehearsal areas. They will help us test those parts of the census operation.