Census advisory groups

One way the Office for National Statistics consults with census users is through Census Advisory Groups that represent the interests of the main user communities.

  • General CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Data quality CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the data quality issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Legislation CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the legislation issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Operational CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the operational issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Output CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the outputs issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Population bases CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the population bases issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Processing CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the processing issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Question selection and testing CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the question selection and testing issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Statistical development CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the statistical development issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Strategic development programme CAG

    Series of papers providing a comprehensive overview of the strategic development issues associated with the planning of the 2011 Census.

  • Agendas from CAG meetings

    Agendas from previous Census Advisory Group meetings.

  • Minutes from CAG meetings

    Minutes and summaries from Census Advisory Group meetings.

One of the ways in which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) consults with census users is through a number of Census Advisory Groups that represent the interests of the main user communities. The following sectors are represented:

  • central government departments

  • local authorities

  • the health service

  • the business sector and professional interest groups

  • the academic community

  • organisations with interests in diversity, religion, ethnicity, special needs and minority populations

  • users in Wales

The meetings are usually held twice a year, often to coincide with particular developments or key events in census planning. Since the completion of the field work part of the census, the meetings have been combined into one meeting in London and one in Wales.

ONS ran a series of road shows in September 2011 to bring users up-to-date on the progress of the 2011 Census and future plans. All advisory group members were invited to attend and to comment. Advisory group meetings were held in London and Newport during April 2012. The next round of meetings is scheduled for autumn 2012. There are further groups managed by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) to cover census users in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. Agendas, minutes/summaries and lists of members are available as downloads.

A series of downloadable advisory group papers from 1997 onwards provides a comprehensive overview of the issues associated with the implementation of the 2001 Census, and the planning of the 2011 Census. The recommendations or proposals put forward in the earliest papers may not necessarily have been carried forward, so the most recent papers give the most up-to-date information on any topic.

The advisory group papers have been grouped by topic (for example, data quality) and are available to download.

Alternatively, paper copies are available from:

Census Advisory Group (CAG) Secretariat
tel: +44 (0) 1329 447912
email: cag.secretary@ons.gov.uk