Community and Engagement Survey: Information for Participants
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-18)

What you need to know about being part of the Community and Engagement Survey.

I have received a letter inviting me to participate in the Community and Engagement Survey. How can I check if it is genuine?

The survey is delivered by Verian on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Verian will be able to confirm whether your letter is genuine and that you have been selected to take part. Their freephone number is xx-xxxx-xxxx (mailto:0800%20158%202952), or you can email xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

You can also contact the DCMS survey support team for further information at: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

How do I complete the Community and Engagement Survey?

Please click the following link to complete the survey online (https://www.cesurvey.dcms.gov.uk/). You will need your unique user ID and password that was provided in your invitation letter. The survey should take around 30 minutes to complete. Only people that live in your household are allowed to take part.

How do I redeem my voucher?

Once you have completed the survey you will be directed to a voucher website, where you can choose from a variety of different shopping vouchers. If you complete the survey using a paper questionnaire, a voucher will be posted to you once we have received the completed questionnaire.

If you would like help redeeming or using the voucher you can email the Verian survey help team at xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Overview

The Community and Engagement Survey (CES) has been designed to explore how people across England engage with their community and with culture, media and live sport, and allows respondents’ views to be heard on a range of issues affecting their local area.

The findings will help Government, charities and other public sector organisations understand how people engage with culture, media and a range of activities, as well as understand more about communities across England. It will help inform and shape policy and decision making.

The Community and Engagement Survey replaced DCMS’ Participation Survey (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/participation-survey) and Community Life Survey (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/community-life-survey--2) which were run until September 2025 and March 2025 respectively.

Being chosen for interview

Addresses are selected from the Post Office’s list of addresses in England, so that the results reflect the experiences and views of the whole population. If your address is selected you will receive a Community and Engagement Survey invitation letter which will include your reference number and password, as well as instructions about how to take part.

We would be very grateful if you would take the time to complete the survey online (https://www.cesurvey.dcms.gov.uk). To do so you will need your reference number and password which you can find on your survey invitation letter.

If you would prefer to fill in a paper version of the questionnaire, you can request this by calling the Verian survey help team on xx-xxxx-xxxx (mailto:0800%20158%202952) or emailing Verian at xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx) and they will arrange for a paper version to be posted to your household.

Who is conducting the survey

Verian is carrying out the survey on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

More information about Verian (https://www.veriangroup.com/about-us)

Further information

If you have been invited to take part in the survey and would like more information please contact the survey support team at: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

Confidentiality

The statistics produced will not identify you or anyone in your household. Your answers will be combined with those of all others who take part in the survey. Your name and contact details will only be known to the team processing the survey results at Verian, and the relevant data controllers of this information. We will not pass on your details to any organisation without your agreement, unless otherwise listed in the Privacy Notice for the survey. De-identified survey information may be provided to other government departments, and approved partner organisations or researchers for statistical purposes only. All information will be processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation for the performance of official authority and public interest.

Data Protection and Privacy Notice

For general information on how DCMS handles personal data, please read DCMS’s personal information charter (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-culture-media-and-sport/about/personal-information-charter).

More detailed information about how your personal data is processed, as well as your rights under the data protection legislation, is available in the Privacy Notice for the Community and Engagement Survey (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/community-and-engagement-survey-privacy-notice).

For any data protection queries please contact the DCMS Data Protection Officer: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced a guide to your rights (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/). If you are not happy with the way we are processing your data, you have the right to make a complaint (https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/) to the Information Commissioner’s Office about our practices, or you can call their helpline on xx-xxxx-xxxx (mailto:0303%20123%201113).

Enquiries

For general queries about the questionnaire and survey outputs, please contact the Community and Engagement Survey team at DCMS: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).