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<p>The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.</p><p>
</p><p>Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive
of the UK Statistics Authority.</p><p> </p><p>The Baroness Hoey</p><p>House of Lords</p><p>London</p><p>SW1A
0PW</p><p>14 November 2023</p><p>Dear Baroness Hoey,</p><p> </p><p>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 <strong>(HL38)</strong>.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Gender identity question development</strong></p><p>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:</p><ul><li><p>qualitative research involving both trans participants
and those whose gender identity is the same as their sex registered at birth (cisgender)</p></li><li><p>quantitative
research through five online and multi-modal surveys with a range of respondents</p></li><li><p>inclusion
in the 2019 Census Rehearsal</p></li></ul><p> </p><p>Your questions relating to specific
testing within that process are addressed below</p><p> </p><p><strong>Participants
in qualitative testing in 2017</strong></p><p>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:</p><ul><li><p>Various trans organisations and contacts.</p></li><li><p>Respondents
to the ONS’s Opinions and Lifestyle Survey who had given permission for ONS to contact
them again for future research.</p></li><li><p>Follow-up contact with volunteers from
previous research.</p></li><li><p>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).</p></li></ul><p> </p><p>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.</p><p>
</p><p><strong>The 2019 Census Rehearsal</strong></p><p>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.</p><p>
</p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>Yours
sincerely,</p><p>Professor Sir Ian Diamond</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/qualityofcensus2021genderidentitydata"
target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/qualityofcensus2021genderidentitydata</a></p><p>[2]
<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/questiondevelopment/sexandgenderidentityquestiondevelopmentforcensus2021"
target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/questiondevelopment/sexandgenderidentityquestiondevelopmentforcensus2021</a></p><p>[3]
<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/questiondevelopment/summaryoftestingforcensus2021"
target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/questiondevelopment/summaryoftestingforcensus2021</a></p>
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