Edinburgh Napier University

  This paper provides an assessment of the value of national population censuses as information sources with specific reference to
UK census data and its use in policy-making. Mixed methods were adopted to collect quantitative and qualitative data from two
sources: (1) a content analysis of policy documents, and (2) interviews with policy-makers in Scotland. The findings highlight that
although the general value of the census is recognised, policy-makers are not necessarily closely engaged with the census as a tool
for directing the development and implementation of policy. This is evident, for example in a lack of awareness of proposed changes
to the census, and infrequent deployment of available data. The opportunity to change perceptions among policy-makers, and to
expand the application of census data in public policy, is identified. With a novel focus on the deployment of censuses as sources of
evidence for policy-making that includes the views of policy-makers from both within and beyond government, this work
contributes to an established body of global research on international censuses.