1. Executive summary
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) began questionnaire development for Census 2021 in 2015, when we invited views in The 2021 Census – Initial view on content for England and Wales (PDF, 3.4MB).
In May 2016, the ONS published its response to the Census 2021 topic consultation in The 2021 Census: Assessment of initial user requirements on content for England and Wales: Output and enumerations bases report (PDF, 646KB).
Respondents to the consultation stated a need for the enumeration base to remain the same for Census 2021 as for the 2011 Census to maintain continuity, and there was a clear requirement for consistency of definitions. The definitions for the 2011 Census can be found in Final Population Definitions for the 2011 Census (PDF, 98.4KB).
Census 2021 will enumerate the population and housing in England and Wales. While we have sought to maintain the same definitions over time for Census 2021, some minor changes have been made. The changes between Census 2021 and the 2011 Census are described in this report.
Changes in how the household and communal establishment questionnaires are designed to count people and their accommodation according to these definitions will be outlined in the question development reports Counting residents and visitors question development for Census 2021 and Communal establishments (CEs) and CE questions on the individual questionnaire; question development for Census 2021.
Changes related to what is defined as a household space
All sheltered housing units are defined as household spaces; in 2011, some were defined as communal establishments.
All serviced apartments are defined as household spaces; in 2011, these were not explicitly defined.
Hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, inns and pubs with space for fewer than seven guests are defined as household spaces; in 2011, those with space for fewer than 10 guests were defined as households.
Nurses’ accommodation are defined as household spaces; in 2011, these were counted as communal establishments.
Changes related to what is defined as a person’s place of residence
Schoolchildren at boarding school who stay at their term-time address for four or more nights per week in general should be recorded as usually resident at their term-time address (for example, their boarding school address).
Students who intended to stay regularly at a term-time address should be recorded as usually resident at their term-time address, even if because of the coronavirus pandemic they did not stay there as much as planned, so long as they have the right to return on or after Census day (even if only for one night).
In 2011, all schoolchildren at boarding school and students were to be counted as usually resident at their term-time address, regardless of the time spent there per week. For Census 2021, as in the 2011 Census, limited information will be collected at their permanent or family home address.
Personnel serving on a ship on census night who do not have a permanent or family home should be counted as usually resident at their Home Port or Naval Base address if this address is in the UK. In 2011, they were counted on board the ship if they were inside UK waters or at the Home Port or Naval Base if they were outside UK waters.
Prisoners sentenced for less than 12 months should be counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home, as many prisoners do not serve the whole sentence and are generally released from prison halfway through their sentence. In 2011, only prisoners sentenced to less than six months in prison were counted at their permanent or family home.
Back to table of contents2. Aims of this report
The aims of this report are to:
provide details of the definitions that will apply to Census 2021
clearly state any changes to definitions from the 2011 Census
define the types of housing to be enumerated for Census 2021
define the population that needs to be counted for Census 2021
define whose responsibility it is to complete the different types of census questionnaire
3. Types of housing to be included
Census 2021 enumeration is address based. An address is described as the place where someone lives or an organisation is situated, and it can be split into residential addresses and non-residential addresses.
Residential addresses are properties that are or could be lived in. They are not solely commercial or derelict. The census enumerates residential addresses as either dwellings, which may contain one or more household spaces, or communal establishments.
Non-residential addresses are buildings that are not used for people to live in, such as day schools or offices. These are not enumerated in the census.
Dwelling
A dwelling is a unit of accommodation that may comprise one or more households. If it contains more than one household, then it is a shared dwelling. Most dwellings contain only one household.
Household space and household
A household space is the accommodation used, or available for use, by an individual household. A household is defined as one person living alone or a group of people, not necessarily related, living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room or dining area.
Unoccupied household space
Dwellings with no usual residents should be enumerated as unoccupied household spaces. An unoccupied household space may be used by short-term residents or visitors on census night.
Communal establishment
A communal establishment is an establishment providing managed residential accommodation. “Managed” in this context means providing full- or part-time supervision of the accommodation.
Communal establishments exclude all sheltered accommodation, serviced apartments, houses rented to students by private landlords, and nurses’ accommodation. These are defined as households.
Examples of communal establishments include:
medical or care establishments
educational establishments
armed forces establishments, including US Armed Forces bases
detention establishments
travel or temporary accommodation
religious establishments
staff or worker accommodation, with the exception of nurses’ accommodation
hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, inns and pubs with residential accommodation with space for seven or more guests
Within these groups, there are specific types of communal establishment where further definition is provided for clarity: student accommodation and medical or care establishments.
Student accommodation
All accommodation provided solely for students during term time should be defined as a communal establishment, unless it is rented to students by a private landlord.
Student accommodation that is a communal establishment includes:
university-owned cluster flats
houses and apartments located within student villages
similar accommodation owned by a private company and provided solely for students
A small number of caretaking, maintenance or academic staff may also reside in this type of accommodation.
Medical or care establishments
Dedicated nurses’ accommodation on the site of the medical or care establishment is not part of the communal establishment. Each household within that accommodation should be counted.
A small number of caretaking, maintenance or other medical staff may also reside in this type of accommodation.
Changes to the housing definitions since the 2011 Census
Sheltered housing
In the 2011 Census, sheltered housing units were defined as communal establishments if less than 50% had their own cooking facilities.
For Census 2021, all sheltered housing should be enumerated as households.
The reasons for this change are:
each flat at a sheltered housing site has its own front door and postal address
consultation with providers found that most sheltered housing is self-contained
residents are independent and should have responsibility for completing their own census form
Serviced apartments
A serviced apartment is a type of furnished apartment, available for short- or long-term stays, which provides amenities, housekeeping and a range of services for guests and where most taxes and utilities are included within the rental price. There has been an increase in the number of serviced apartments since 2011.
In the 2011 Census, services apartments were not defined.
For Census 2021, serviced apartments should be enumerated as households. This is because serviced apartments are generally mixed with residential flats and other housing. They are understood to have users who are generally resident long term and more likely to meet the definition of a usual resident or census short-term UK resident.
Hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, inns and pubs with residential accommodation
In the 2011 Census, hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, inns and pubs with residential accommodation with room for fewer than 10 guests were defined as households. Those with room for 10 or more guests were defined as communal establishments.
For Census 2021, only those with room for fewer than seven guests are defined as households.
This change aligns the census definition with the threshold for paying the non-domestic rate for Council Tax. This means that we can use administrative data in the form of non-domestic rate flagging on the Address Register to help identify properties that are communal establishments.
Nurses’ accommodation
In the 2011 Census, nurses’ accommodation were defined as communal establishments.
For Census 2021, nurses’ accommodation are defined as households, provided that the accommodation does not also contain patients. This includes accommodation on a hospital site and cluster flats or similar accommodation provided solely for nurses.
This change accounts for a change in the administrative data sources being used.
Back to table of contents4. People to be counted
A full census return should be collected from all usual residents of the UK and census short-term UK residents. Anyone who has stayed, or intends to stay, in the UK for three months or more should complete a full census return.
Visitors also form part of the main enumeration base. Some basic information is collected for all people staying overnight on census night at an address.
Usual resident of the UK
A usual resident of the UK is anyone who, on 21 March 2021, is in the UK and has stayed, or intends to stay, in the UK for 12 months or more or has a permanent UK address and is outside the UK and intends to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.
The only exception is members of the armed forces on deployment on operations, who remain usual residents of the UK regardless of length of deployment.
This is the same definition as used in the mid-year population estimates and allows for comparability with population estimates from other countries.
Census short-term UK residents
A census short-term UK resident is anyone born outside the UK who has stayed, or intends to stay, in the UK for a period of three months or more but less than 12 months.
Visitors
A domestic visitor is a person who is usually resident in the UK or a census short-term UK resident staying overnight at an address on 21 March 2021 at which they are not usually resident. They should be counted as visitors where they are staying overnight and separately counted at their usual address as a usual UK resident as well.
An international visitor is a person who intends to stay in the UK for less than three months. They are usually resident outside the UK so will only be counted as visitors.
Back to table of contents5. Place of residence
A UK resident’s place of usual residence is generally their permanent or family home or the address in the UK at which they spend most of their time.
A UK resident can be defined as a household resident, a communal establishment resident, or someone who is sleeping rough.
A UK resident with no usual address should be counted as a usual resident at the address at which they are staying on 21 March 2021, whether it is a household or communal establishment, unless they were sleeping rough on census night.
Household resident
A household resident is a person whose place of usual residence is in an individual household and not within managed residential accommodation in a communal establishment.
In addition to this, a person should be counted as usually resident at an household address if, on 21 March 2021, any of the following circumstances apply:
they are temporarily away from home, for example, on holiday, visiting friends or relatives, or travelling (unless they are outside the UK for 12 months or more)
they are currently living in a communal establishment but are expected to stay there for less than six months
they are currently living in a prison with a sentence of less than 12 months
they are a baby born on or before 21 March 2021, even if still in hospital
they have more than one UK address and are staying at the second address on census night
they are present at the address, even if temporarily, and have no other usual address in the UK
Communal establishment resident
A communal establishment resident is a person who has already spent, or expects to spend, six months or more in a communal establishment, for example, a care home, hospital, hostel or student halls of residence.
In addition, a person should be counted as usually resident at a communal establishment address in the following circumstances:
they are a UK resident who is staying in a communal establishment on 21 March 2021 and have no other usual address in the UK; this is regardless of how long they have stayed or intend to stay there
they are from outside the UK and have stayed, or intend to stay, in the UK for three months or more and do not have another usual address in the UK
they are currently living in a prison with a sentence of 12 months or more
A person should be counted as a visitor at a communal establishment if they are from outside the UK and have stayed, or intend to stay, in the UK for less than three months in total or the communal establishment at which they are staying is not their usual address and they usually live elsewhere in the UK.
People sleeping rough
A person sleeping rough is a person that is identified as “absolutely homeless”. This is a person who is sleeping, or bedded down, in the open air or in buildings or other places not designed for habitation. For example, people sleeping on the streets or in doorways, parks or bus shelters.
Rough sleepers will be enumerated in Census 2021. Specific field processes will be put in place to count rough sleepers.
People with complex living arrangements
For some people, their living arrangements make it hard to apply the definitions of usual residence. The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples, with details on how they should be enumerated.
People who live at more than one address
People with more than one UK address, for example, those who work away from home, should be enumerated as usually resident at their permanent or family home, even if most of their time is spent at another UK address.
People who are staying at a second address outside the UK on census night should be counted as usually resident at their permanent or family address in the UK if they intend to remain outside the UK for less than 12 months in total. If they intend to remain outside the UK for 12 months or more, they are not counted as a usual UK resident, unless they are an armed forces member deployed on operations.
Children with parents who live apart
Children who are “shared” between parents living apart should be counted as usually resident at the address at which the child spends most of their time. If the child lives equally between parents, then the child should be counted as usually resident at the address where they are staying overnight on 21 March 2021.
Children at boarding school and students
Children at boarding school who stay at their term-time address for three nights or less per week in general should be counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home address. If they are staying at their term-time address on 21 March 2021, they should be counted as visitors at their term-time address.
Children at boarding school who stay at their term-time address for four or more nights per week in general should be counted as usually resident at both their term-time address and their permanent or family home address. A reduced amount of information will be collected on the census form at their permanent or family home address.
Students who intended to stay regularly at a term-time address should be recorded as usually resident at their term-time address, even if because of the coronavirus pandemic they did not stay there as much as planned, so long as they have the right to return on or after Census day (even if only for one night). A reduced amount of information will be collected on the census form at their permanent or family home address.
Armed forces members
Armed forces members on deployment on operations remain usual residents in the UK regardless of length of deployment. However, armed forces members permanently stationed abroad (for example, in Germany or Cyprus) are not usual residents of the UK and should not be included in the census.
Armed forces personnel should be counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home, even if most of their time is spent at their armed forces base address. This includes personnel based on ships.
If a member of the armed forces is stationed in the UK and does not have a permanent or family address at which they are usually resident, they should be recorded as usually resident at their base address.
Armed forces personnel from overseas forces (for example, the United States) who are based in the UK for three months or more should be counted as usually resident in the UK at their UK permanent, family home or base address.
People in prison
Prisoners sentenced for less than 12 months should be counted as usually resident at their permanent or family home. Prisoners sentenced to 12 months or more should be counted as a usual resident of the prison.
If a person has been convicted and is in prison awaiting sentencing, they should be counted as usually resident in the prison.
Changes to the place of residence definitions since the 2011 Census
Children at boarding school and students
In the 2011 Census, all schoolchildren at boarding school and students were to be counted as usually resident at their term-time address. Since then, there has been an increase in the number of schoolchildren at boarding school and students staying at their term-time address on a part-time basis.
For Census 2021, schoolchildren at boarding school will only be counted as resident at their term-time address if they stay there four or more nights per week in general during term-time. This is consistent with other census definitions, which are centred on stating that people should be counted at the address where they spend most of their time.
For Census 2021, students who intended to stay regularly at a term-time address should be recorded as usually resident at their term-time address, even if because of the coronavirus pandemic they did not stay there as much as planned, so long as they have the right to return on or after Census day (even if only for one night). Enumerating students at their term-time address is a important user need and maintains consistency with the population basis of previous censuses.
Armed forces members
In the 2011 Census, personnel on ships who did not have a permanent or family home were counted depending on the ship’s location. They were counted on board the ship if they were inside UK waters or at the Home Port or Naval Base if they were outside UK waters.
For Census 2021, the ship’s location will not impact where these personnel will be counted. They will be counted as usually resident at their Home Port or Naval Base address if this address is in the UK.
This definition has been implemented as it does not rely on armed forces members, or those completing the census on their behalf, knowing if their ship is inside or outside UK waters on census night.
People in prison
In the 2011 Census, only prisoners sentenced to less than six months in prison were counted at their permanent or family home. Prisoners sentenced to six months or more were counted in prison.
For Census 2021, this threshold has been raised to 12 months.
This is consistent with the definition for people in communal establishments, as someone who has already spent or expects to spend six months or more in a communal establishment. This applies because, for most types of prison sentence, prisoners sentenced to under 12 months are frequently released halfway through their sentence.
Back to table of contents6. People responsible for completing Census 2021
In a household, it is the householder
The householder or joint householder is the person who is resident or present at the address that owns or rents , or jointly owns or rents, the accommodation and/or is responsible, or jointly responsible, for paying the household bills and expenses.
Any household resident, or any person acting on behalf of that person, can request an individual census questionnaire should someone wish to complete their census questionnaire separately to the rest of the household. It is the individual’s responsibility to complete the individual census questionnaire. They must still be included as usually resident in the household questionnaire.
In a communal establishment, it is the manager
The communal establishment manager is the person who, at the time of census completion, is overseeing the communal establishment.
The communal establishment manager in hotels and hospitals is responsible for the completion of the individual questionnaire for those residents unable to complete the questionnaire themselves, either by completing it for the resident or by arranging for the questionnaire to be completed by a relative or companion.
The communal establishment manager is solely responsible for the completion of individual questionnaires if the person is incapable of doing so.
People sleeping rough
The homeless must make an individual return or authorise anyone to respond on their behalf. If the person responsible for making the return is incapable, then the return may be made on their behalf by anyone capable of doing so.
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