The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS), was created in May 1970 through the merger of the General Register Office

General Register Office

The General Register Office for England and Wales is the section of the UK Identity and Passport Service responsible for the civil registration of births , adoptions, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths in England and Wales and for those same events outwith the UK if they involve a UK citizen...

 and the Government Social Survey Department.

It was a forerunner and constituent, with the UK Central Statistical Office

Central Statistical Office, UK

The Central Statistical Office was a British government department charged with the collection and publication of economic statistics for the United Kingdom...

, of the Office for National Statistics

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...

, in which they combined in 1996 under a single director who, from 2000 was also known as the National Statistician

National Statistician

Directors of the UK's Office for National Statistics also hold the title of National Statistician.-Status:They are de facto Permanent Secretaries but do not use that title. As the ONS incorporated the OPCS, the Director also became the Registrar General for England and Wales...

. The director of OPCS was also Registrar-General for England and Wales.