Lessons must be learned on low census rate - report

The government agency responsible for Scotland's census has been told lessons must be learned from the low response rate earlier this year.

The deadline for filling in the form had to be extended, and still failed to reach the target 90% of households.

An Audit Scotland report said this resulted in increased costs and extra work.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) delayed the census because of Covid-19 restrictions.

In the other UK nations, where it was not delayed, the survey reached 97% coverage.

Only 89% of homes in Scotland returned the survey - this figure was 79% before the deadline was extended.

A subsequent survey by the NRS to assess the gaps left by the low response, also fell short of its target reach.

Edinburgh University's Prof Lindsay Paterson, an expert in data-led social research, said it was not far-fetched to call it a "fiasco", calling it "an extreme embarrassment".

However, Audit Scotland's report noted that the NRS issued up to five further reminder letters and post cards, along with increased media and marketing activity.

It said other countries also extended their deadlines in recent years due to Covid restrictions limiting door to door activity - including the USA.

The report also said people who had not completed the form were given a chance to comment on their reasons.

Of the 1,231 responses, it said the most common reasons were that people were "too busy" (35%), "not aware of the census" (16%) or did not realise they had to complete it (14%).

An independent group of census and data experts was established in response to the low turnout in Scotland.

It concluded the NRS had a "solid foundation" to continue the next phase of the census.

Auditor General Stephen Boyle noted the £6m additional cost of the census, saying its data is vital to planning public services.

He said: "It's important that National Records of Scotland establishes why the return rate was significantly lower than the other countries in the UK.

"Those lessons should be shared and will be crucial to planning for future censuses and surveys."

The Scottish Conservative's constitution spokesperson Donald Cameron said: "It was clear from the moment that the Scottish government decided to hold their census on a different date from the rest of the UK that it would cause trouble.

"Lessons must be learned - and I would hope Angus Robertson has the sense to accept them."

A spokesperson for NRS said: "NRS is conducting robust evaluation across the census programme looking at all aspects of its design and delivery to reflect lessons learned.

"An end to end evaluation report on the census programme will be published and laid before Parliament."

The UK Office for Statistics Regulation has told the NRS to be open about how it is calculating the census results.

This is to secure a high level of confidence in the use of other administrative data, including registrations at GPs, the NHS central register, the school pupil census, as well as colleges and universities.

The watchdog is to produce a report on the Scottish census next year.