Census: Transgender People

(asked on 7th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the 2021 census, (1) how were the cisgender and transgender individuals who took part in ONS qualitative research on gender identity conducted in 2017 selected; (2) what percentage of transgender individuals participated in the (a) 2019 census rehearsal and (b) 2021 census; (3) which local authority areas were chosen for the rehearsal; and (4) what assessment they have made of census data relating to high levels of trans-identified individuals in areas of England and Wales with high minority ethnic populations.


Answered by
Baroness Neville-Rolfe Portrait
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 21st November 2023

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Baroness Hoey

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

14 November 2023

Dear Baroness Hoey,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking (1) how the cisgender and transgender individuals who took part in Office for National Statistics (ONS) qualitative research on gender identity, conducted in 2017, were selected; (2) what percentage of transgender individuals participated in the (a) 2019 census rehearsal and (b) 2021 census; (3) which local authority areas were chosen for the rehearsal; and (4) what assessment has been made of census data relating to high levels of trans-identified individuals in areas of England and Wales with high minority ethnic populations (HL38).

Census 2021 was the first census in England and Wales to collect data on people's gender identity. The census asked a voluntary question on gender identity of people aged 16 and over and this data was first published in January 2023.

On 8 November 2023, the ONS published an article titled ‘Quality of Census 2021 gender identity data’ [1]. This is the result of its investigation into the quality of census gender identity data after some unexpected patterns were identified. It included looking at patterns of trans identification by ethnic group, country of birth and proficiency in English. These patterns can offer some insight into the last aspect of your question relating to the level of trans-identified individuals in England and Wales with high minority ethnic populations.

Gender identity question development

As with all census questions, the gender identity question went through a detailed process of development and testing. This evaluated three core designs as described in detail in our 2020 publication ‘Sex and gender identity question development for Census 2021’ [2]. As set out in Annex 2 of that report, the testing activities conducted for this topic included:

  • qualitative research involving both trans participants and those whose gender identity is the same as their sex registered at birth (cisgender)

  • quantitative research through five online and multi-modal surveys with a range of respondents

  • inclusion in the 2019 Census Rehearsal

Your questions relating to specific testing within that process are addressed below

Participants in qualitative testing in 2017

In 2017, we carried out two sets of qualitative testing as part of the development of the gender identity question. In March and April 2017, we carried out exploratory cognitive interviews and focus groups, this testing is referred to as 2017:6 in annex 2 [2] and in the summary of testing for Census 2021 which includes further information [3]. We included cisgender (female and male), transgender, and intersex participants, as well as people with a transgender person in their family. We also made sure we involved people of different ages, education levels, ethnicities, and household types. Transgender participants were recruited through the following sources:

  • Various trans organisations and contacts.

  • Respondents to the ONS’s Opinions and Lifestyle Survey who had given permission for ONS to contact them again for future research.

  • Follow-up contact with volunteers from previous research.

  • Through a request for volunteers with the required characteristics among family, friends, and other contacts of ONS staff (the participants did not include ONS staff themselves).

In August and September 2017, we carried out further cognitive interviews with cisgender and transgender participants (2017:15) [2] . Transgender participants were recruited through various trans organisations and follow-up contact with people who had responded to recruitment for the earlier research but weren’t interviewed at that time. Cisgender participants were recruited through the research team’s register of participants in previous research on other topics, who had given permission for ONS to contact them again for future research.

The 2019 Census Rehearsal

The 2019 Census Rehearsal took place in four local authority areas: Carlisle, Ceredigion, Hackney, and Tower Hamlets. These locations were selected so that we could rehearse in different types of areas. The Rehearsal tested our preparations, our operational processes and systems, our digital platform, our engagement and communications strategies and the Census Coverage Survey, as part of our preparations for Census 2021. It was not designed to collect representative data, but to test, evaluate and gather feedback on our preparations. The overall response rate for this voluntary survey was therefore lower than for Census 2021, particularly for communal establishments such as student halls of residence.

The gender identity question was voluntary in Census 2021 and was clearly marked as voluntary in the questionnaire for both the census and the 2019 Rehearsal. In the Rehearsal, 0.3% of respondents aged 16 and over answered ‘No’ to the gender identity question, reporting that their gender identity was different to their sex registered at birth. In Census 2021, 0.5% of respondents answered ‘No’ to the gender identity question; 6% of census respondents gave no answer to the question.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/qualityofcensus2021genderidentitydata

[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/questiondevelopment/sexandgenderidentityquestiondevelopmentforcensus2021

[3] https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/questiondevelopment/summaryoftestingforcensus2021

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