The Office
for National Statistics (ONS) (formerly the Office for Population
Censuses and Surveys, OPCS) together with the General
Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and Northern
Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA)
are responsible for the collection and dissemination of the UK’s censuses.
There is a very good summary of the history
of the UK Census on the ONS website.
More information on methods of data collection and coding is in another CHCC
overview unit.