Census Engagement Managers across the Black Country have been helping organisations, charities, faith groups and community leaders to raise awareness of the Census and the value to residents in taking part.

Households across ​Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton​ ​will soon be asked to take part in the national, once-in-a-decade survey that gives the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales.

This years Census will be the first run predominantly online, with households receiving a letter with a unique access code, allowing them to complete the questionnaire on their computers, phones or tablets. Iain Bell, deputy national statistician at the Office for National Statistics, said:

“A successful census will ensure everyone from local government to charities can put services and funding in the places where they are most needed.

“This could mean things like doctors’ surgeries, schools and new transport routes. That’s why it is so important everyone takes part and we have made it easier for people to do so online on any device, with help and paper questionnaires for those that need them.”

Census day will be on March 21, but households across the country will receive letters with online codes allowing them to take part from early March.

The census will include questions about your sex, age, work, health, education, household size and ethnicity. And, for the first time, there will be a question asking people whether they have served in the armed forces, as well as voluntary questions for those aged 16 and over on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Results will be available within 12 months, although personal records will be locked away for 100 years, kept safe for future generations.