The new Community and Engagement Survey, covering adults aged 16 and over, recorded more than 202,000 completed responses in its first full fieldwork year.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has launched a continuous national survey examining how people across England participate in community life and engage with culture, media and live sport. The 2025/26 fieldwork, which ran from October 2025 to March 2026, produced 202,018 completed responses — surpassing the target sample of 191,500 across both pathways.
Respondents are split between two routes: a Community pathway, which drew 185,678 completions against a target of 175,000, and an Engagement pathway, which drew 16,340 completions against a target of 16,500. Of the total responses, approximately 182,266 were completed online and 19,752 on paper — the figures show that roughly nine in ten respondents used the online route.
The survey replaces two separate data collections: the former Community Life Survey and the Participation Survey. It’s designed to produce nationally representative results and is structured to allow analysis by local authority, regional geography, age group and neighbourhood deprivation level.
Selected households receive an invitation by post to complete the survey online — a method known as push-to-web — with a paper questionnaire available for those who are not digitally engaged or prefer not to respond online. The questionnaire takes about 30 minutes to complete.
Pilot results gave an early indication of the challenge ahead. Of 1,000 households issued invitations, just 15.1 per cent responded at household level and 11.4 per cent at individual level. In total, 232 respondents from 171 households interacted with the survey during the pilot, while 199 from 139 households completed it. Some pilot participants considered the questionnaire lengthy, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Office for National Statistics is hosting a webinar on 10 November at 1.10pm covering the survey’s background, methodology and initial findings. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is supporting the project alongside DCMS.
Key information
- Webinar date: 10 November, 1.10pm — hosted by the Office for National Statistics
- Who can take part: adults aged 16 and over living in England, selected by household invitation sent by post
- Paper option: available for respondents who are not online or prefer not to use the web version
Source: @ONS