UK Census 2011

[MacNimon]

I'm just about to fill in my census form, having put it off for several days. Have you filled in yours yet?

What are your thoughts on the Census, is it a good thing or not? Do you find it a nuisance being required by law to fill in one of these forms, or are you proud to be involved in the process?

And what are your thoughts on the questions asked?

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I thought question 17 was a stroke of genius.

[Captain Tancredi]

It could lead to some awkward moments for anybody who got lucky last night when you have to ask the person you pulled for their details to go on the form.

The point has been made that the vast majority of the information the form asks for is available to the authorities in other forms- if you want to know where I work, check my tax records and the DVLA will be able to confirm whether there are any cars registered to this address- but because local authorities and government departments have put their record-keeping together piecemeal, it's still more reliable to have an exercise of this nature than make all the different IT systems in use talk to each other. It could also throw up some results which are irrelevant within a few years because we're now living in an age of worldwide migration- this is the first census since mass immigration from Eastern Europe became a fact of life, and the census results might indicate that our education system is going to need a lot more language support in the next few years for children who speak Polish etc. at home, but who's to say that many of the immigrants of five years ago might not have moved on or gone home by the time the figures are any use to anybody?

I have issues with two questions where I don't think it asks enough detail either. The form asks me how I usually go to work (bus) but nowhere does it give me the opportunity to say that I usually come home by train because it's the quickest way. And neither does it make any distinction between undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, which I'd have thought would be worth knowing.

[MacNimon]

I thought question 17 was a stroke of genius.

[Jason Thompson]

Question 17 is blank because on the Welsh census form question 17 is 'do you speak Welsh?'. It is relevant in Wales, where there are legal requirements for the use of the Welsh language, but irrelevant beyond the Welsh border. It's easier to adjust the form in the way it has been done than print entirely separate ones.

As for the census itself, I am not bothered. I am neither 'prooud to contribute' nor against it. It has its uses. To be honest the only thing I wonder about it is, if it is used the way it is intended, it could probably do with being more frequent. Ten years is a long time.

[Captain Tancredi]

I remember it being said (presumably for the 1981 census) that in the pre-digital age it actually took them ten years to process all the information in the forms so it was the most convenient interval that the ONS could handle.

The question about religion tends to have a lot of controversy attached to it, however what could become interesting over time is whether the number of active practitioners starts to show that some of the tax and legal privileges which certain religious groups enjoy are less and less justifiable.

[Andrew Curnow]

It could lead to some awkward moments for anybody who got lucky last night when you have to ask the person you pulled for their details to go on the form

You're wasted working in a bank, Ian, that's just a brilliant idea for a comedy sketch!

[Alex]

I did it online earlier today, it was nice and easy and only took about 10 minutes.

My only complaint was just how bland it all was, and why it needed to know exactly where my bathroom is located, etc. It would have been nice to have just one or two more interesting questions - something as simple as "Are you happy?" or "Are you optimistic about the future of the country?". And if it were possible (though I know data inputting wise it'd be a massive pain in the arse) for people to write one short sentence about themselves that could've been quite interesting too.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

And if it were possible (though I know data inputting wise it'd be a massive pain in the arse) for people to write one short sentence about themselves that could've been quite interesting too.

Considering how people use the 1900 census to find about their relatives, that would be a nice touch.

[MacNimon]

Considering how people use the 1900 census to find about their relatives, that would be a nice touch.

That's what I thought, as well. Using Census records to track your family history has really only been a relatively recent development (in a big way, at least), but you would have thought that they'd use the opportunity to record some more trivial - but perhaps more interesting - data for posterity. Mind you,that isn't really the reason for the Census, is it? The sort of stuff that could give an insight into our everyday lives to future generations probably is of no interest to those compiling the data.

Thinking along those lines, wouldn't it be nice though to have a Census of sorts which did pry into our private lives? Simply for the benefit of future generations trying to find out more about their families? Of course it would have to be a voluntary thing, and you would naturally want all data provided kept private for at least 100 years (perhaps even longer depending on what information you would provide!). In such a scenario, how much would you reveal about your life? Would you put something in that you wouldn't want people to know about at present but it wouldn't bother you being revealed at a future time once anyone directly affected would be dead and gone?

[WhiteCrowNZ]

wouldn't it be nice though to have a Census of sorts which did pry into our private lives?

We've got a whole agency for this ... the CSA ...

[SiHart]

It would be nice to immortalised in some way wouldn't it? Even if by a one word statement about yourself.

Si xx

[WhiteCrowNZ]

What would people want to say about themselves in about 20 words or less? It would be an interesting question (almost tempted to spin it off as a new thread, but it's late).

[Lissa]

It could lead to some awkward moments for anybody who got lucky last night when you have to ask the person you pulled for their details to go on the form.

Even more so if you got lucky where we were on Saturday night only to get a shock when she ticks the male box the next morning.

[Larry]

well we posted ours today.

[Stephen Morgan]

I didn't want to bother with this, condemning it as a scandalous waste of money in these days when the government is advocating tightening our belts. But realising it's a legal requirement I posted ours today. I had to slit open the envelope as I'd put the completed forms in the wrong way and couldn't see the return address.

[Rob McCow]

I neglected to post ours this morning, even though I said I would!

[SiHart]

I neglected to pick it up on the way to work too.

Si xx

[Jon Masters]

I did mine online.

It's the way of the future