Census (Return Particulars and Removal of Penalties) Act 2019

The Census (Return Particulars and Removal of Penalties) Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its primary purpose was to amend the Census Act 1920 in anticipation of the 2021 census of England and Wales.

The key provision of the Act was to make compliance with certain questions in the census voluntary, rather than mandatory. Specifically, it removed the penalties for failing to provide information about a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. This change reflected a broader societal shift towards greater individual privacy and autonomy in disclosing sensitive personal information.

Prior to the 2019 Act, the Census Act 1920 prescribed penalties for failing to complete the census form accurately and completely. The 2019 Act maintained the mandatory nature of answering most census questions, ensuring the collection of essential demographic data for government planning and resource allocation. However, it carved out an exception for questions concerning sexual orientation and gender identity, acknowledging that individuals may have legitimate reasons for not wanting to disclose this information.

The Act was introduced to address concerns raised by some members of the public and advocacy groups regarding the compulsory nature of these specific census questions. The government argued that removing the penalties would increase public trust in the census process and encourage greater participation overall, while still allowing for the collection of valuable data on these important demographic characteristics. The voluntary nature of these questions allowed the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to still collect this data, but only from those willing to share it.