The Official Report of last week's evidence session at @SP_European with @FionaHyslop and @NatRecordsScot is now online. The proposed guidance for the sex question in the 2021 census was discussed at length: parliament.scot/parliamentaryb…
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot Convener @JoanMcAlpine asked which data users had requested guidance that instructs respondents to answer the sex question based on their self-declared gender identity, referring to the letter sent to the three UK census authorities by 80 eminent academics parliament.scot/S5_European/Ge…
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot @JoanMcAlpine Ms McAlpine asked why more weight was being given to a letter from 50 academics, very few of whom were users of population level data: parliament.scot/S5_European/Ge… 
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot @JoanMcAlpine She went on to highlight a concern raised in the letter co-ordinated by @ProfAliceS about the potential effects of conflating the sex question with gender identity on sub-populations.
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot @JoanMcAlpine @ProfAliceS This concern was not addressed during the evidence session by either the Minister or representatives of the NRS.
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot @JoanMcAlpine @ProfAliceS Ms McAlpine again raised the findings of NRS' own testing of the sex question which found that 3% of the general population sample said they would not complete the census if guided to answer based on either their legal sex or self-declared gender identity.
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot @JoanMcAlpine @ProfAliceS (In 2011, only 0.8% of respondents did not complete the sex question.)
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot @JoanMcAlpine @ProfAliceS The Minister replied saying that respondents completing the census questionnaire online would not be able to skip the sex question, but conceded that "some people said that
in the research".
in the research".
@SP_European @FionaHyslop @NatRecordsScot @JoanMcAlpine @ProfAliceS Jill Morton of NRS confirmed this. Ms McAlpine went on to ask the Minister whether she had considered the possibility that some people would boycott the census.
