Linkage of Census and Administrative Data to Quality Assure the 2011 Census for England and Wales

The 2011 Census for England and Wales made extensive use of administrative data to quality assure the estimates. This included record linkage between census and administrative data. This article describes the role of record linkage in the quality-assurance process. It outlines the operational challenges that we faced and how we resolved them. Record linkage was confined to a sample within 58 carefully selected local authorities. We found characteristic patterns of under- and overcoverage in the National Health Service Patient Register, which we illustrate here with examples. Our findings may be useful in countries that, like England and Wales, do not have a comprehensive population register to draw on and that need to understand issues of coverage in their routinely collected administrative data and the use of these data to estimate populations.