Census 2021

That this House notes that the ONS England and Wales Census as it appeared in 2011 did not allow for non-white citizens to identify as British; acknowledges that while the formal categories are not intentionally exclusionary, this oversight tells people of colour that they are unable to identify as solely British and may only identify by the heritage of their parents, grandparents or great grandparents; agrees that the questions regarding ethnicity in the 2011 Census and as they are proposed to appear in the 2021 Census are outdated and do not reflect the complexity that is ethnicity in the UK; notes that people from multiple ethnic backgrounds are the fastest growing demographic in the UK and thus questions on ethnicity in the Census must change to reflect this and accommodate the various combinations of multiple ethnic backgrounds in the UK; recognises that many citizens of multiple ethnic backgrounds do not identify by their ancestors ethnicity but by their Britishness; calls on the Government to update the 2021 questions regarding ethnicity to accommodate this and allow Black, Asian, and Mixed-Race citizens to identify as British on the 2021 Census and as such, the options available for the Black ethnic category will read as follows, British, African, Caribbean, Any other Black / African / Caribbean background, please describe, and similar would appear for other ethnic categories.