The census is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics every 10 years. It gives us a representation of all people and households in England and Wales.
The census asks a range of questions about individuals and their households – and is completely anonymous. This enables a detailed snapshot of our society to be developed which in turn helps public services and organisations to plan effectively. It also informs levels of funding for areas such as transportation, education and healthcare.
The census is the most definite source of demographic information available and helps us to understand the profile of our local communities and how Westminster as a place has changed over time. We use this information in a variety of ways, in particular in our service delivery planning.
To help make the insights from the census (2021) in Westminster more widely accessible, we have summarised key findings into a ‘Census Storyboard’ which also visualises the data spatially across Westminster.