1. Beyond 2011 Options Consultation: Implications for Equality Analysis
Karen Hurrell, Senior Statistician
Equality and Human Rights Commission

2. Outline Legal requirements under Equality Acts 2006 and 2010
Equality data requirements: EHRC and other public authorities
Three areas of concern
Final comments on the two options
Conclusions

3. Legal requirements
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has a legal requirement to monitor the entire population of Great Britain.
Statutory requirement under Section 12 of the Equality Act to monitor changes in society and to report to Parliament at least every five years.
We have a monitoring role for the Public Sector Equality Duty. This duty requires all public authorities to have due regard to equality in the exercise of their functions.
The specific duties require public authorities to publish information showing compliance with the Equality Duty, and to set equality objectives. For example, through an EqIA.

4. EHRC data requirements
Population profiles: For people who share one or more protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
These characteristics are: age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, plus socio-economic group.
Used for monitoring the size and distribution of equality groups and changes over time or as a baseline for comparison with other sources.
For example, ethnic group by age and police force area used to analyse disproportionality in police stop and search data.

5. EHRC data requirements
Measures of equality: Comparisons between equality groups.
Provide indicators of: overall health and disability, highest qualification, housing quality and living standards, employment and occupation.
Required to populate the EHRC Measurement Framework and to enable the identification of significant of differences between groups and changes over time.
For example, intersectional analysis of employment or detailed analysis of occupations.

6. EHRC data requirements
Population profiles and measures of equality for specific populations, often in vulnerable situations where their human rights may be at risk, for example:
Residents in communal establishments, such as prisoners by ethnic group or disability or care home residents by age.
Children in care.
Gypsies and travellers.
People with no permanent address, living in temporary accommodation, hostels or sleeping rough.

7. PSED data requirements
2011 Census data (including small area data) are being used by public authorities to:
Publish information about their local population: in terms of equality characteristics, plus employment, housing, education etc.
Plan services, such as healthcare, schools, leisure facilities and transport.
Identify and monitor Equality Objectives or an Equality Strategy.
Carry out Equality Analysis or Equality Impact Assessments.

8. Online data collection
For a Census, a target for online completions of 60%-65% leaves a large minority not responding online.
Certain groups expected to be over-represented in this minority, e.g. older or disabled people within households, communal establishment residents, people in temporary accommodation, hostels or sleeping rough, gypsies and travellers.
As in 2011, alternative arrangements would be needed to allow everyone to be counted.
The same would be required for an online 4% survey, plus there would be additional issues relating to selecting and finding respondents outside of households.

9. The admin data component
Needs to identify and count all residents once only.
Main issues are: counting extra people or the same people more than once, or missing people completely.
Some groups may be more difficult to count than others and this would impact particularly on areas with high percentages in these groups, e.g. people who move frequently, short/long-term migrants, people in communal establishments, anyone whose name is not recorded consistently.
Not on its own suitable for measuring equality characteristics, such as disability, ethnic group, religion or sexual orientation.

10. The 4% survey
Suitable and acceptable questions would be needed to identify equality groups, i.e. age, disability (including type), ethnic group, gender, gender reassignment, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief and sexual orientation. If asked, some would need to be optional.
Capacity to measure the size and characteristics of equality groups will be restricted until sufficient data are collected.
There would need to be a firm commitment to collect at least five years of survey data and to analyse and publish data after one, three and five years covering overall an equivalent range as the Census.

11. 4% survey confidence intervals
Example 1 – Calculation of race disproportionality in PACE stops and searches by police force area.
Uses Local Authority-level data for ethnic group by age to produce ethnic group population estimates for age 10+ for PFAs.
Approx. 95% CIs for black/white disproportionality:
Metropolitan Police – large population, approx. CI 3.2 – 3.3
Dorset – highest RDR, approx. CI 9.9 – 14.2
Cumbria – smallest black population, approx. CI 1.4 – 3.3
More difficult to compare between PFAs or over time.

12. 4% survey confidence intervals
Example 2 – Employment rate for gypsies and Irish travellers for Wales and the English regions.
Lower employment rates than average, ranging from 29% in Wales to 42% in the North East.
Approximate 95% confidence intervals:
South East – emp. rate 39%, approx. CI 34% - 44%
Wales – emp. rate 29%, approx. CI 19% - 40%
North East – emp. rate 42%, approx. CI 28% - 55%
Impossible to compare regions and unlikely to find significant trends over time.

13. Final comments Online Census
Moving from a traditional Census to a predominantly online Census should be the easier option, but the change of methodology could create new problems.
Essential to make appropriate arrangements for those who cannot or prefer not to respond online, especially for certain groups, such as those with accessibility requirements, non- English speakers, communal establishment residents and those with no permanent address.

14. Final comments Admin data and 4% survey
The Census is too important to replace with an untried alternative.
The proposal to move towards a solution based solely on admin data is of particular concern.
Many challenges still with this option. Not convinced that the required methodologies have been tested sufficiently to support it at present.

15. Conclusions
The Census supports statutory responsibilities to monitor and report on equality issues affecting the whole population.
Data quality is of primary importance, more than increasing data frequency.
Many challenges still whichever option is chosen.
Look forward to future discussions and seeing the results of an Equality Impact Assessment.

16. EHRC website links Measurement Framework:
Contact details: