Articles on our website and in our magazines urging people to fill in the Census 2021 did the trick as 97 per cent of households across England and Wales responded.

This is above the pre-census target of 94 per cent.

For those who haven’t yet completed the simple online form, time is running out.

The online questionnaire at https://census.gov.uk/ will close on 17 May.

Now the main field operation has ended, as in 2011, around 350,000 households across England and Wales will be invited to take part in the Census Coverage Survey (CCS). This short, separate, interviewer-led survey will enable the ONS to get a final view of the response rates.

The ONS’s deputy national statistician Iain Bell said:  “We’re in a great place as we begin our Census Coverage Survey. This is an important part of making sure the census produces the most accurate population statistics. It asks similar questions to the main census, just fewer of them, at addresses in a selection of postcodes across England and Wales. An interviewer will carry out the survey on your doorstep and it will only take around 15 minutes.

“The CCS is a voluntary survey, but by taking part, you will improve the quality of the information the census gathers. This, in turn, helps to plan and fund local services in your community.”

Although Census Day – Sunday 21 March – has been and gone it is not too late to respond online. It only takes around 10 minutes per person. If you have lost the letter or have a second address you have not visited, go to www.census.gov.uk to request an online completion code for your address via SMS text message.

After 17 May, only paper questionnaires will be available.

If people refuse to take part, they could be taken to court and issued with a £1,000 fine and criminal record. The census non-compliance operation will begin on 25 May. A sample of households will this week have received a card through the post asking them to take part in the CCS. After that, an interviewer, following the government’s COVID-19 guidelines, will visit the address and fill in the questionnaire with you on your doorstep. The interviewer will be able to show an ID badge on a Census 2021 branded lanyard.

Help and paper questionnaires are still available through the census contact centre on freephone 0800 141 2021 in England and 0800 169 2021 in Wales.