You are in: Home › Census › 2011 Census › Background › Census Confidentiality ›
16 June 2008
Every householder in Britain is obliged by law to complete a census questionnaire. Because the census is compulsory, people have the right to expect the information they provide is to be kept confidential. This statement describes briefly how that confidentiality is secured.
The confidentiality of the information provided about individuals and households is protected for 100 years after each census. Until then, we only publish anonymised statistics which build a picture of the needs and characteristics of Scotland as a whole and the groups and communities within it.
Access to census data that can identify households or individuals is very strictly controlled. The 1920 Census Act made it a criminal offence to unlawfully disclose confidential census information. The 1991 Census (Confidentiality) Act extended this to people and businesses working as part of the census process. The penalties for unlawful disclosure of census information are a fine of up to £1000, or a prison sentence of up to two years, or both.
Everyone working with confidential census information - my permanent staff, the temporary field staff who handle questionnaires, and the staff of any contractors who are working on the census - is required to sign a declaration to confirm their understanding of their statutory obligations, and the penalties for failing to meet them.
We recognise that people need to be confident their personal information will be held securely. GROS will own all personal census information, and will protect it with stringent security measures. We have a long history of successfully protecting the confidentiality of collected information. We regularly review our security measures, and improve them when necessary. We will appoint an independent organisation to conduct audits of our security arrangements and procedures ahead of our 2009 rehearsal in West Edinburgh, Lewis and Harris.
The public can continue to be confident that the personal information they supply on their census questionnaire will be kept confidential for 100 years.
Duncan Macniven, Registrar General for Scotland
Page last updated: 16 June 2008
If you have any comments about this website please use our contact form.
© Crown Copyright 2008