Thank you, convener. I am pleased to be here to talk about the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, but before I talk about the bill, I will take a moment to speak more generally about the census.
Scotland’s census will, subject to approval by Parliament, be taken on Sunday 21 March 2021. This will be the 22nd census to take place and the 17th to be managed independently here in Scotland. In 2021, for the first time, the census will be predominantly conducted online.
For more than 200 years, our country has relied on a census to underpin national and local decision making. The census is the only survey of its kind to ask everyone in Scotland the same questions, at the same time. No other survey provides the richness and range of information that the census provides.
Some basic principles underpin decisions around the census. The key things about the census are that it counts for collective decision making, that it has to be credible, that people have to have confidence in it and that it needs to be consistent for the purposes of comparison.
There must be confidence in the census process from all our citizens in order to ensure that they provide us with their personal information. That confidence is two-fold: first, citizens must trust that we will ensure that their data is kept safely and securely, and secondly, citizens must trust that we will ask the most appropriate questions to reflect our society at the time, and that we will do so sensitively. That trust has delivered more than 200 years’ worth of data. It is why we can proudly demonstrate a consistent approach over those years. Some questions have come and gone, but we have always been consistent in our professional approach to the census and in tracking the core data.
I am here today specifically to discuss the bill. As you know, the purpose of the bill is to amend the Census Act 1920 to allow questions on sexual orientation and prescribed aspects of gender identity—that is, on transgender status and history—to be asked on a voluntary basis. The power to ask those questions on a compulsory basis already exists in the 1920 act, and refusing to answer a census question or neglecting to do so is an offence under section 8 of that act. We want to avoid that for individuals who answer the new questions.
The approach in the bill seeks to mitigate concerns about intrusion into private life by making the questions voluntary, as was done with questions on religion when they were included for the first time in the 2001 census. It is important that nobody is, or feels, in any way compelled to answer these important but sensitive questions.
The decision on the need to collect the information has been arrived at through a process of consultation and research. The National Records of Scotland has worked, and continues to work, with stakeholders to understand the needs and concerns of the communities involved. However, the NRS has recognised that more consultation is required—for example, of women’s groups—as the questions are developed. The NRS has communicated that to the committee. That consultation is under way as part of the further stakeholder work that is required to ensure that all users’ data needs can be understood and considered.
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It is widely recognised that there is limited evidence on the experiences of transgender people in Scotland and currently there is no fully tested question for collecting information. In covering that, the census would take a big step forward to ensure that we can develop the evidence that is needed to support and protect Scotland’s transgender population.
Sexual orientation is asked about in most Scottish household surveys; it is proposed that the sexual orientation question for the 2021 census would mirror the question that is used in other surveys in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. Society will have changed significantly and rapidly in the 10 years since the previous census, so the 2021 census must reflect that.
Although the bill’s purpose is to provide for voluntary questions on the two issues, we recognise that many stakeholders are focused on whether the questions should be asked and how they relate to other possible questions. The bill is not about the mandatory sex question, but we are aware that there are strong and often very opposing views on whether a question on sex should be binary or non-binary, whether it should be related to birth certificates or legal sex, and whether it should be more focused on self-identification. The bill does not specifically relate to those issues, but it is clear that stakeholders are concerned about those matters.
To enable an element of future proofing on the legal definition of transgender, the bill uses the term “gender identity” to cover transgender status and history. That also assists in clearly separating questions about sex and transgender, so the question on sex can continue to be mandatory. However, I recognise that that has raised the concern that the bill conflates gender identity and sex. I make it clear that the intention behind the bill has never been to conflate sex and gender identity. It is about asking questions to obtain information; it is not about the law on gender recognition or equalities. I am aware that the NRS has written to the convener to indicate willingness to consider how such matters might be perceived in relation to the census and—importantly—to understand the committee’s views.
The census questions that will be asked are a work in progress. The bill is not about agreeing whether the questions will be asked or agreeing the wording of questions. The questions that are to be set will be considered as part of a subordinate legislation process that will happen next year. I assure members that the views and evidence that have been submitted will feed into further consideration of the question that is to be asked on sex in 2021.
On the questions that will be set and their wording, we expect a period of informal engagement with the committee to begin after stage 3, and to continue throughout 2019. As the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee recommended in relation to the 2011 census, that process is intended to improve on the 2011 census process by ensuring that the committee is given the opportunity to scrutinise the questions for the 2021 census properly before formal consideration of the subordinate legislation. It is intended that the formal census order and regulations will be brought to Parliament in early 2020, but we would like to agree the legislative timetable with the committee and discuss what the committee would find helpful in order to allow the thorough consideration that will be required.
I draw the committee’s attention to a couple of drafting points in relation to the policy memorandum. The first is that it incorrectly includes intersex people under the umbrella term “trans”. That was an unfortunate action during drafting in relation to an area that is constantly developing. We recognise that the needs of trans people and of intersex people are different. We will ensure that any future documentation does not include intersex people under the trans umbrella.
The second point is that the policy memorandum says that the 2021 sex question will have a non-binary response option. It should have said that that approach is being considered and tested. The matter will be brought to the committee as part of the subordinate legislation process. I ask the committee to note those two points.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee today about the bill.