Deadline for Scotland’s census submissions pushed back by four weeks

The deadline to complete the census in Scotland will be extended by four weeks after a low response rate, it has been announced.

Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson told MSPs of the delay in a statement at Holyrood on Thursday.

The survey, which takes place once every decade to gauge the demographics of the country and guide the future of public services, was due to close on Sunday.

Mr Robertson confirmed on Thursday that 77.2% of households had provided a response, but a remaining 604,000 had yet to do so.

This number, he said, included approximately 68,000 instances where a household had begun the process online, but was yet to submit it successfully.

He told MSPs: “I cannot stress enough how important it is for the Government to hear the voices of the remaining 604,000 households who are still to return before the deadline of Sunday, May 1.”

An additional budget investment of up to 7% – amounting to £9.76 million – of the programme costs will be provided by the Scottish Government in a bid to collect the remaining responses.

Mr Robertson suggested factors such as the Ukraine war and the Covid pandemic could have impacted on the priorities of Scots to ensure their households have submitted the survey, but said a high response rate is required in order for the census to be effective.

“Every household must complete Scotland’s census,” he said. “In addition to being a civic responsibility, completion of the census is also a legal responsibility, as it has always been for previous censuses.

“Failure to meet this responsibility can result in prosecution, which could lead to a criminal record and a fine.

“However, the shared focus is, and must be, on ensuring that people are supported and encouraged to complete the census.”

The deadline to complete the survey has been extended until the end of May.

Mr Robertson said support will remain available throughout May to help people in completing the census, either via the free helpline on 0800 030 8308 or on the census.gov.scot website.

He confirmed that as of Monday, more than 700,000 calls had been made to the contact centre, which has provided more than 260 language interpretations.

Field staff have undertaken more than 988,000 household visits in Scotland, providing in-person support should it be needed.

The Scottish Conservatives suggested the SNP had caused “serious failure with long-term implications for public policy-making”, and said the country’s census should have been held at the same time as the rest of the UK in 2021 to benefit from a UK-wide promotion.

The Scottish Government made the decision to postpone the census to this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tory MSP, Donald Cameron, labelled the census “nothing short of disastrous”, and said the announcement was a “needless delay” at an extra cost to the taxpayer.

Mr Cameron asked: “Does he accept it was a mistake to delay the census?”

Mr Robertson responded: “No, that was not a mistake.”

The Constitution Secretary issued an apology as he began his statement, after it emerged notice of his update had been leaked to the press before MSPs had been made aware.

The presiding officer confirmed she had met with Mr Robertson for an explanation on the issue, and told MSPs the Scottish Government will carry out a “thorough investigation” as to how it ended up in the public domain.