The General Report is the official and comprehensive account of the 2001 Census in England and Wales. Information from the decennial censuses underpins public policy and service provision, in both the public and private sector. The results from the latest Census will form the basis for key decisions for the decade.

The Report reviews the entire Census operation from the early consultation and planning stages, through the field activities and data processing, including the post-back of forms and the fill adjustment of the Census counts, to the production and dissemination of outputs and evaluation. It provides a wealth of detail about how the Census was carried out and what lessons have been learned to take forward in the plans for any future censuses.