Today is Census Day, March 21st 2021, and to maximise participation and completion of all possible detail accurately by our UK Nepali community, NRNA UK Vice President and UKNFS Brand Ambassador has produced a valuable Census completion video which can be accessed below: https://www.facebook.com/100003018774671/posts/3797489900361598/
STOP PRESS (Tuesday 23rd March)!
Since release of the original version of this news article the UKNFS has become aware that for many in our community and at general society level, there was some confusion about the deadline for completion of the Census (online or in hard copy post versions). Also that some of our Nepali overseas students at UK universities believed that they didn’t need to complete the Census, because they were overseas nationals.
We have also added a new, major second section to this page (at the end below) giving the guidance we have been providing for a number of particular questions, such as on the mental health questions, ex-serviceman and serving Gurkhas questions, some minority communities relevant questions, national identity questions, religion, ethnicity and other questions. Please Note: if you feel you need for some of the more senstive, personal questions or culturally sensitive ones such as on mental health, you can request to complete the Census on a confidential personal basis: https://census.gov.uk/en/request/access-code/individual/
WE UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU MISSED CENSUS DAY (21st March) THAT THERE ARE STILL INTO APRIL OPPORTUNITIES TO COMPLETE. THIS IS IMPORTANT AS YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DO SO BY LAW AND COULD FACE SUBSTANTIAL FINES IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLETE.
The UKNFS has been strongly involved at national strategic, to multiple UK Nepali communities across the country (from Dorset/Blandford/Wimborne, Bournemouth and Poole, to Gloucester, Swindon, Kent, Peterborough, Hertfordshire and beyond).
This has in particular been in support to the important and outstanding work of Ms Miaya kc, one of our two national UK Nepalo Census Field Officers, whom we have connected with community leads across the country, including UKNFS directors and advisors. Included in the outreach are our UK Nepali international students, and we are supporting and proposing dedicated engagement with often overlooked minority/sub-population groups with additional often much greater needs.
This is an historic moment for our Nepali community because the data gathered (which will, by law, be anonymised for confidentiality reasons) will inform planning and provision of services from national government agency down to localities and public services, and the Third & Community & Voluntary sectors.
The UKNFS has completed a detailed analysis of the Census, relevant questions which will form, with other relevant information, the basis of an ONS and UK Government & Parliament report. Our emphasis in this is to maximise use of the data gathered to inform policy and services planning. We will keep you posted on this (the report will be issued at the end of April), as this very important and timely resource will be put at the disposal of our friends at the NRNA UK, multiple UK Nepali community organisations, as well local authorities, public service organisations (such as the NHS), and national government agencies such as the DWP.
In the second part of this page (below) we provide information and Census, and UKNFS guidance notes on a number of particularly important Census questions to help any and all members of our UK Nepali community to complete where and if relevant.
SOME KEY CENSUS QUESTIONS
Q14: How would you describe your national identity? Tick all that apply
- British
- English
- Welsh
- Scottish
- Northern Irish
- Other, write in
How would you describe your national identity?
If you are completing the paper census questionnaire please use the paper census guidance.
Why we ask this question
It’s up to you how you answer this question. Select all the national identities that apply. You can select more than one.
Your answer helps your community by giving your local authority a better understanding of how people in your area identify themselves.
This information can highlight areas of deprivation among different cultural groups in your community. This gives public bodies a clearer picture of the communities they serve.
The census first asked this question in 2011.
Your national identity is what you think it is
Your national identity could be the country or countries where you feel you belong or think of as home. It’s not dependent on your ethnic group or citizenship.
This question allows you to record an identity that isn’t listed, if you want to.
For example, you can:
- answer as “British” and/or one of the other UK identities
- answer with a British or other identity separately from recording your ethnic group in the next question
Example:
- Tina was born in Kenya but now lives in England. Her mother is Japanese and her father is English. Tina has spent a great deal of time in Japan and feels a strong connection to the country. Tina describes her identity as British-Japanese.
- Tina selects the option that says: “British”.
- She also selects the option that says “Other” and enters “Japanese”.
National identity not listed:
If yours isn’t listed, select “Other” and enter your national identity in the space provided, such as Cornish, Irish, Polish or Indian. You can give more than one answer if you want to.
You can also use this space to record a community or regional identity.
When you start typing, suggested answers will appear. You can select from this list or continue typing your own answer if your identity isn’t listed.
UKNFS Guidance NOTE: Here the examples would be for example for UK Nepali community members (NOT visiting Nepali nationals, who would put ‘Nepali’)
British – Nepali
British
British, Nepali – Sherpa, etc.
Q15: What is your ethnic group?
UKNFS Guidance NOTE: A – E options. C. Asian or Asian British being the relevant question, but also consider B ‘Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups if relevant (this is more likely to be for children of Nepali – White British/Non-Nepali BAME British parents).
Most UK Nepali community members are first generation, amongst whom quite recently (approximately the last 10 – 15 years) settled first generation members. Transference from Nepal to the new setting of the UK, pride and self-identification with your particular ethnicity and culture, can therefore be reflected on the answer you put on the form.
As the online form and the hard copy one it will be valuable to consider writing/typing in after starting with ‘Nepali’ a specific ethnicity, such as for example ‘Nepali – Sherpa’ / ‘Nepali – Madeshi’ / ‘Nepali – Limbu’ etc.
It is essential to always put Nepali first in your response.
The entry Gurkha relates to a profession rather than an ethnicity, so should feature in the different: questions 42 and 43 are the relevant ones to complete for our Nepali Gurkha community members.
Option B is more likely to be applicable to second and third generation BAME/ethnic minority community members are Dual or Multiple Heritage (identifying with two or more ethnic and cultural heritages, under a core British self-identification heading.
Q16: What is your religion?
Online guidance note for this question:
It’s up to you how you answer this question. If you don’t have a religion, please select “No religion”.
This question is voluntary, so you can leave it blank if you want to.
If you want to provide a religion, denomination, branch or caste that isn’t listed separately, select the “Any other religion” option and enter the name on the next page. When you start typing, suggested answers will appear. You can select from this list or continue typing your own answer if your religion isn’t listed.
Children and babies
As this question is voluntary, if you think that a child is too young to identify with a particular religion, you can leave the answer blank.
Source: https://census.gov.uk/help/how-to-answer-questions/online-questions-help/what-is-your-religion
Analysis and guidance NOTE: The options given for this question (which is a Voluntary one) give complete flexibility. We don’t know at this point as it concerns data gathered analysis later once the Census is closed, but believe that the main options may form a primary list, and then under these in most cases, more specific lists be made. In this it will be valuable to consider answering, for example, ‘Nepali Buddhist’ ‘Nepali Hindu’ and beyond these even more specific forms/denominations, branches of your religion or spiritual faith or belief system (which can for example be secular, humanist, etc.).
Q18: What is your main language?
This will be the language you speak in most often on a daily basis.
UKNFS Guidance NOTE: This is a very important question for calculating interpretation support needs by for example your local council, the NHS, police support, at schools, but national government agencies too such as the Department of Work and Pensions & Job Centre Plus.
Your answer can for instance impact on whether or not short videos on important subjects should be made in your main language. The UKNFS position on this is that such videos can be created and accessed wherever you live in the UK, and even only a relatively small number speak the same language. We understand that community organisations can request creation of such videos; in this case data is valuable to justify creating the latter.
In most cases of most recently settled in the UK, Nepali community members that main spoken language will be Nepali, but in some cases may for example be the Sherpa language, etc.
The Census multiple languages option, and Census guidance on defining the criteria the question is based on ‘…the language you speak in most often on a daily basis,’ — ‘… think about the language you use most naturally. It could be the language you use at home’ – are both very helpful.
What is your main language? (If you live in England)
If you are completing the paper census questionnaire please use the paper census guidance.
Why we ask this question
Your answer helps your community by showing local service providers where there’s a need for language services. These services are for people in your area whose main language is not English. For example:
- the NHS may need to provide translation and interpretation services
- a local authority might need to improve the availability of English language lessons
- all public bodies need to decide how they make information accessible to a wide range of users in their area
Information about the number of British Sign Language (BSL) users helps your local authority. It helps them plan services and develop policies to meet the needs of people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
The census first asked this question in 2011.
Only give one answer.
If you’re not sure what your main language is, think about the language you use most naturally. It could be the language you use at home.
If you select “Other”, you will be asked how well you speak English in the next question.
When you start typing, suggested answers will appear. You can select from this list or continue typing your own answer if your main language isn’t listed.
Sign languages
If a sign language (such as British Sign Language) is your main language, select “Other” and enter the name of the sign language.
Multiple languages
If you have two or more main languages and one of them is English, select “Other” and enter the name of the language other than English that you prefer to speak.
If you have two or more main languages, not including English, enter the name of the language that you prefer to use.
Children
If a child is not yet speaking, select the main language you expect them to use when they start to speak.
Why there’s only a choice between “English” and “Other”
English is listed because it’s the official language common to the whole of the UK.
It’s important that we know how many people don’t have English as their first language and what their main language is.
This helps to identify the number of people who might need additional help when accessing or using public services.
Source: https://census.gov.uk/help/how-to-answer-questions/online-questions-help/what-is-your-main-language
Q19: How well can you speak English?
- Very well
- Well
- Not well
- Not at all
Guidance note on Question 19 — How well can you speak English?
Why we ask this question
Your answer helps your community by showing local service providers where there’s a need for language services for people in your area whose main language is not English. For example:
- the NHS may need to provide translation and interpretation services
- a local authority might need to improve the availability of English language lessons
- all public bodies need to decide how they make information accessible to a wide range of users in their area
This information helps measure how English language ability affects employment and social inclusion.
The census first asked this question in 2011.
UKNFS Analysis NOTE:
Defining language competency:
Unfortunately, there is No Census/ONS guidance note on specifying and giving real life context examples of quantifying and defining the degrees of spoken English Language competence; meaning that many community members are confused about which option to tick relevant to their experience (especially the ‘well’ and not well’ options). This will make the data gathered of poor quality, and especially for education and English language service providers.
The Census does not include a ‘How well you can read written English? / How well you can write and reply in English?’
This is the most important language communication question of all for most first-generation UK Nepali community members (including from UKNFS experience members who have been resident in the UK for many years) because deficits in confidence and experience cause many of those community members to be reticent on completing and understanding important forms directly. This is a particularly important real life integration inhibiting factor, which unfortunately has been overlooked by the Census developers at the ONS. NOTE: consequently this leaves the DfE with responsibility in outreach and solutions regarding this missed opportunity/information gathering deficit.
Q22: Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more?
Guidance NOTE on Mental Health: If for example you are a victim of serious level regular racial abuse that disrupts your clarity of mind and sleep patterns for example, you should consider answering Yes, because low mood/depression and anxiety disruptive to the extent mentioned, count as a health condition(s). This of course also applies to experiences where you feel you may be being discriminated against or exploited, or personal issues such as in relationships which in some cases involve abuse of various kinds or even domestic violence; equally, you may be a member of an LGB or T community and for cultural reasons unable to be Out with family, consequently suffering from depression.
Cultural sensitivities do not exist in regard to NHS and other related support on any of the mental health (and safety and safeguarding considerations mentioned above), so by filling in this section of the form as accurately as possible if you have such mental health impacting experiences, help can be provided more easily, because of the Census data.
As with sexual orientation and gender minorities questions, due to cultural sensitivities you are advised to use an online individual form in completing the Census, so your privacy is protected and yet you provide important information that will help not only service providers (NHS, etc.) but other community members too.
Why we ask this question
It’s up to you how you answer this question. If you believe you have a physical or mental health condition or illness that will last 12 months or more, select “Yes”.
Remember to include physical or mental health conditions:
- that are not curable, even if medication or treatment can control symptoms
- that you’re likely to have for the rest of your life
- that flare up from time to time, even if the flare up doesn’t last 12 months, for example, eczema
- that may not be perceived as serious and don’t affect day-to-day activities, but are still long lasting
- that are managed by treatment and lifestyle adjustments and don’t affect day-to-day activities, but are still long lasting
Please don’t include temporary conditions, however serious they might be.
If you don’t have any health conditions, or if any you do have are not expected to last 12 months or more, choose “No”.
Examples of physical or mental health conditions or illnesses:
- Sensory conditions, for example, sight and hearing loss
- Mental health conditions or illnesses, for example, anxiety, depression and eating disorders
- Developmental conditions, for example, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which includes Asperger syndrome, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Genetic conditions, for example, Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis
- Learning impairments, for example, dyslexia and processing issues
- Heart and other circulatory conditions, for example, heart disease and high blood pressure (hypertension)
- Respiratory conditions, for example, asthma
- Digestive conditions, for example, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s disease
- Seasonal conditions that recur or are expected to recur in the future, for example, hay fever
Answering for someone else
If you’re answering on behalf of someone else, where possible you should ask them how they want to answer. If they’re away, select the answer you think they would choose.
UKNFS Guidance NOTE:
This question includes reference to mental health, which for many UK Nepali community members, especially older and elderly ones is for cultural reasons a taboo and controversial one.
In reality for many community members as First Generation UK new residents and citizens, some UK Nepali population groups for integration challenges, experiences of in some cases discrimination, and in a rare few cases exploitation because of minimal knowledge of their rights, depression can be a real problem.
Beyond these factors other sub-population groups can for very understandable reasons encounter depression, anxiety, poor mental reasons; by completing this question you can help the NHS in particular to provide greater more appropriate to UK Nepali community support needs, support.
The UKNFS is directly aware as well of the negative mental health impacts of prejudice/racism, and that not a few community members have experienced the latter in various parts of England. For such community members who have had such experiences too, answering this question is important:
We provide this link to help you complete this question on a safe, confidential basis:
https://census.gov.uk/en/request/access-code/individual/ — if you have had information recorded on a family or household Census completion form, your individual Census completion will override this and will NOT be known to your family or household.
Q23: Do any of your conditions or illnesses reduce your ability to carry out day-to-day activities?
Guidance NOTE: If you are a victim of serious level regular racial abuse that disrupts your clarity of mind and sleep patters for example, you should consider answering Yes, because low mood/depression and anxiety disruptive to the extent mentioned, count as a health condition(s).
Why we ask this question
Your answer helps your community by allowing your local authority to understand the health needs of the people in your area both now and in the future. For example, people with long-term medical conditions are likely to need more support from the NHS. By measuring long-term conditions, your local authority can see how people will use the NHS in the future. They can then make plans to set aside resources and provide the right services for your community.
This information also helps develop and monitor policies to make sure that everyone is treated fairly. These policies affect the way that public bodies provide healthcare and aim to reduce health inequalities. They also help work towards improving the general health of the people in your area and the rest of England and Wales.
The census first asked this question in 1991.
What we mean by day-to-day activities
Day-to-day activities include everyday tasks, for example eating, washing, walking and going shopping.
Things that might affect your answer
Think about how much your current day-to-day activities are affected. Include any impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had on your conditions or illnesses.
Think about whether you’re still affected while receiving any treatment or medication, or while using any devices for your condition or illness. For example, if you use a hearing aid and are not restricted in carrying out your day-to-day activities when doing so, select “Not at all”.
Select “Yes, a lot” if you rely on support from others, such as family, friends or home help services, to carry out your current usual day-to-day activities.
UKNFS Guidance NOTE:
Please see our note to Question 22.
We provide this link to help you complete this question on a safe, confidential basis:
https://census.gov.uk/en/request/access-code/individual/ — if you have had information recorded on a family or household Census completion form, your individual Census completion will override this and will NOT be known to your family or household.
Q24: Do you look after, or give any help or support to, anyone because they have long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses, or problems related to old age? Exclude anything you do as part of your paid employment.
This carer support subject question is very important as most UK Nepali families that have elderly parents and family members, often living with them, need to complete this question for responses will indicate where services should be expanded or introduced in regard to in particular health and social care. Support is available to you that will not involve strangers taking greatly loved elderly family members away, but can take many forms such as some benefits access, technical specialist support and guidance for you as a family member, domestic/home setting carer.
On a cultural sensitivity note, the tradition of family love and respect for parents and the elderly in the UK Nepali and broader South Asian (and many other BAME) communities, is deep and the norm. At this point in time only very few UK Nepali community members, for cultural tradition reasons would consider sending their elderly parents into a private care home to be looked after by strangers (this is different of course to end of life and specialist nursing homes care).
Why we ask this question
Your answer helps your community by giving local authorities a better understanding of carer needs in your local area. Information about people providing unpaid care is a key sign of care needs and can affect how public bodies provide health and social care services in your area.
Your answer helps the NHS and social services to meet their legal responsibilities. These include identifying carers and providing them with services and advice.
This information gives an idea of how social care services could be affected if unpaid carers were not available. Public bodies use the information, with other measures of health, to identify local inequalities and needs.
Your answer helps decide what funding the government gives to local authorities through the carer’s grant.
The census first asked this question in 2001.
This question is asking about unpaid care. Include any help and support you give to someone who’s unwell, elderly or unable to manage on their own.
Select the option that’s closest to the average time you spend helping per week.
Include
- All unpaid care you provide, including occasional help
- Any formally recognised unpaid care – for example, if you receive Carer’s Allowance you’re still considered to be providing unpaid care
- Any unpaid care you provide because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Examples of how you might provide this help
Don’t include
- Any hours that you work as a carer as part of a paid job
- Support you provide as part of an organisation taking care of older people in the community
- Any hours you work as a carer as part of a voluntary job
Answering for someone else
If you’re answering on behalf of someone else, where possible you should ask them how they want to answer. If they’re away, select the answer you think they would choose.
UKNFS guidance NOTE: some elderly members of our UK Nepali elderly community encounter depression because of integration challenges relating to difficulties with achieving a sufficient degree of spoken English language skills, and for differences between Nepal context cultures and that of the main UK culture.
Consequently, depression can be a common experience for some elderly UK Nepali community members, and yet for cultural sensitivity reasons ‘mental health’ experiences can be regarded as taboo and something to not divulge. The Census offers an opportunity to confidentially record for elderly community members experiencing depression, and also dementia, their needs; this to influence support that the NHS can provide. Trusted community friends understanding of the cultural sensitivity needs of elderly community members on this subject can assist the latter to have their voice heard.
This link to help you complete on a safe, confidential basis:
https://census.gov.uk/en/request/access-code/individual/ — if you have had information recorded on a family or household Census completion form, your individual Census completion will override this and will NOT be known to your family or household.
Q26: Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation? This question is voluntary
- Straight/Heterosexual
- Gay or Lesbian
- Bisexual
- Other sexual orientation, write in
Guidance note:
Why we ask this question
Your answer helps your local community by allowing charities, public bodies, and local and central government to understand what services people might need.
This information helps monitor equality between groups of people of different sexual orientation. Your answer will help public bodies to identify discrimination or social exclusion based on sexual orientation and work to stop it from happening.
This is the first time that the census in England and Wales has asked this question.
This question is voluntary, so you can leave it blank if you prefer. We ask this question of people who are aged 16 years and over.
It’s up to you how you answer this question. Select only one option from the following:
- “Straight or Heterosexual” means that you’re only attracted to people of the opposite sex
- “Gay or Lesbian” means that you’re attracted to people of the same sex
- “Bisexual” means that you’re attracted to more than one sex
- “Other sexual orientation” lets you enter your own answer, for example, pansexual or asexual. This is also voluntary, so you can leave it blank if you prefer.
UKNFS Guidance NOTE: Cultural sensitivities mean that even though the UK Nepali LGB population will be, based on consistent figures for the broader LGBT+ community be between approximately 6% and 10%, the sensitivities mentioned mean that for UK Nepali LGB community members voices to be recorded on the Census in this historically important question, because only very few indeed of these communities’ members will be ‘Out’ as LGB. The Nepal 2015 Constitution enshrined LGB rights in law.
In the case of the UK Nepali LGB community, support needs are particularly high, so community members are encouraged to complete this question.
Confidential independent responses are in most circumstances for general UK Nepali community cultural reasons required for this question for UK Nepali LGB community members.
This link to help you complete on a safe, confidential basis:
https://census.gov.uk/en/request/access-code/individual/ — if you have had information recorded on a family or household Census completion form, your individual Census completion will override this and will NOT be known to your family or household.
Q27: Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth? This question is voluntary
Guidance note:
Why we ask this question
This question is voluntary, so you can leave it blank if you prefer. We ask this question of people who are aged 16 years and over.
It’s up to you how you answer this question.
Select “Yes” if:
you identify as female and your sex registered at birth was female
you identify as male and your sex registered at birth was male
Select “No” if:
your gender identity is different to the sex recorded on your birth certificate when you were born, for example if you’re transgender or non-binary
UKNFS NOTE: In the case of the UK Nepali Trans community, support needs are particularly high, so community members are encouraged to complete this question. Confidential independent responses are in most circumstances for general UK Nepali community cultural reasons required for this question if applicable.
This link to help you complete on a safe, confidential basis:
https://census.gov.uk/en/request/access-code/individual/ — if you have had information recorded on a family or household Census completion form, your individual Census completion will override this and will NOT be known to your family or household.
Q32: Have you previously served in the UK Armed Forces?
UKNFS Guidance NOTE: this question is asking about whether one has served [in the past ‘PREVIOUSLY’] in the Armed Forces.
Retired Gurkhas (who have served in the Brigade of Gurkhas [Queens, Gurkha Signals, Royal Gurkha Rifles, etc.) would answer ‘Yes’ to the ‘Yes, previously served in the REGULAR Armed Forces’
Some former Brigade of Gurkhas members however may have joined the RESERVE Armed Forces (https://www.gurkhabde.com/reserve/). In this case they should tick ‘Yes’ on that option too.
If you are British – Nepali but have Not been a member of the Brigade of Gurkhas, but have served in the REGULAR Armed Forces or as a member of the RESERVE Armed Forces, you should also tick ‘Yes’ to either, or if applicable Both options.
Otherwise all would tick ‘No’ to the question, including all family members of retired or serving Brigade of Gurkhas members
Q42: What is your full job title?
UKNFS Guidance NOTE: This is the question where being a Brigade of Gurkha member can be explicitly named in the response, including which regiment/battalion, position.
Q43: Briefly describe what you do (did) in your main job
UKNFS Guidance NOTE: Again, in this question if you are a serving (or previously serving) member of the Brigade of Gurkhas, you can state that.