Sir
The census estimates on gender identity remain the best available across England and Wales. They are broadly consistent with NHS data collected in the same year and other countries' comparable data.
The new, voluntary question went through rigorous development and testing involving trans and non-trans people and, through the census rehearsal, people who did not have English as their main language, before being finalised through legislation. The results also went through the most thorough quality assurance to date, and we know the information we have published accurately reflects what people told us on their questionnaires.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) strives to make the first results available to all at the earliest opportunity which we did in January of this year, with information provided on quality. This is far from the end of our work, and we are currently examining what data patterns and other information show about how people answered the question. We are also continuing to explore how we can provide the right information for people to use the data in the most informed way. Understanding this is complex and, rightly, takes time.
We await the interim findings of the Office for Statistics Regulation' review.
Jen Woolford
Director Population Statistics, ONS
Fareham
Hants