27.01.09 IT solutions specialist CACI (UK) has chosen two new Scottish suppliers to help it deliver data capture and processing services for Scotland's next census in 2011.The move follows CACI (UK)'s appointment last year by the General Register Office for Scotland which is responsible for taking Scotland's census.

The appointments fit with CACI (UK)'s policy to purposely choose Scottish suppliers to ensure the census is delivered where possible by local organisations, keeping the economic benefits in Scotland. The census will be the first in Scotland to use both traditional paper and online questionnaires.

Since all the processing work will be carried out locally, over 200 new jobs will be created by CACI (UK) in Scotland to help deliver the census. Those employed will be trained in new IT and data processing skills which can be transferred to other roles once the census is completed.

brightsolid and dns, based in Edinburgh and Dundee, will support CACI (UK) in delivering the technology and security measures necessary to make the census accurate, comprehensive and efficient, and maintain strict data confidentiality.

brightsolid, a business Internet Service Provider formerly known as Scotland Online, will provide secure data centres at Dundee and Edinburgh. Each will host the internet data capture and internet public assistance services to support the online census at http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk. The site will hold the information received from people completing their questionnaires online and it will provide answers to the public's queries about the census. The online security systems used will ensure that the confidentiality and integrity of the census data are protected.

dns, an information security services company based in Edinburgh, has been appointed to help CACI (UK) to meet the security standards used in the census, before these are carefully checked by the General Register Office for Scotland.

The specific work of dns and brightsolid will support CACI (UK) in its overarching role of helping GROS in developing the 2011 Census website, printing paper questionnaires, and developing the IT systems for automated handwritten data capture and coding. While CACI (UK) will design and build the IT systems to carry out the data capture and processing services, the General Register Office for Scotland, as owners of the census dataset, will analyse the results and prepare the census data for statistical publication. All personal details are held by the General Register Office for Scotland and kept confidential for 100 years after each census. CACI (UK) has previously delivered services for the 2001 and 2006 censuses for the Republic of Ireland.

The new technology to deliver the census will be tested when residents in west Edinburgh, Lewis and Harris take part in the census rehearsal on 29 March this year. Census day in Scotland will be 27 March 2011; its last census was held in 2001.

"For the first time, people will be able to complete and deliver their census response questionnaires 'live' online. The project team expects a large proportion of the population to take up this option and that will focus demand on the capacity of the census website," commented brightsolid Chief Executive Chris van der Kuyl.

Graeme Cox, Managing Director of dns, added: "The integrity of data collection and storage within the census is of paramount importance to every Scottish citizen and dns is delighted to be working with CACI (UK) to deliver such a high profile project."

As part of their contracts, brightsolid and dns - like CACI (UK) - will abide by confidentiality guarantees, mandated by Scotland's census legislation and the Data Protection Act. These are designed to ensure that people can be certain that the personal information they provide for the census will be kept absolutely secure.

Notes to editors:

CACI (UK) was established in 1975 and operates from eight offices across the country, including one in Edinburgh. CACI offers an unrivalled range of marketing solutions and information systems to local and central government and to businesses from most industry sectors.

brightsolid is a leading UK independent provider of IT business services and an ISP which delivers business-critical support including a highly specified data centre supporting a large number of corporate and public sector customers. The company specialises in hosting, business continuity, and managing high-volume high-availability network and Internet access.

The company, formerly Scotland Online, has significant expertise in the digitisation and management of records in the fast-growing online family history market. brightsolid has offices in Dundee, Edinburgh and London, and operates a data centre in Dundee.

www.brightsolid.com

dns - part of GCHQ's CESG Listed Adviser Scheme - will advise CACI (UK) around compliance with all necessary security accreditations, helping data to remain safe and confidential. The CESG Listed Adviser Scheme has been developed by CESG (Communications Electronics Security Group) as the information assurance arm of GCHQ, one of the government's national intelligence agencies. It accredits companies which provide high quality information assurance consultancy to both public and private sector organisations.

Further information:

• CACI (UK) - Graeme Buck / Emily Luscombe, Camargue, tel 020 7636 7366.
• General Register Office for Scotland - Scotland's Census -, 2011 Census Communications, tel 0131 314 4277.
• dns - Rory Innes, dns, tel 0870 085 8555.
• brightsolid - Maurice Smith, The Value Innovators, tel 0141 552 9877.