It’s due in today!! Don’t forget. We’re going to be fined £1,000 if it doesn’t get sent back, although how that will be enforced I have no idea.
My brother sent me a text reminder about it earlier:-
Him: Don’t forget to do census today
Me: Unbelievably already done – stupid thing – Census, not u
Him: It is a snapshot of modern life in Britain that will give millions of bits of useful information. Stupid thing – u not Census
I’m not so sure. It seems like a cumbersome, outmoded form of information gathering to me. WHY do they want to know who is staying with me on the night of 27th March? I answered two weeks ago – said four, but frankly it could be any number – and I’ve got ten people for dinner tonight so more than four might stay. Does it really cost £483M to distribute? Isn’t there an easier way to collect the information in our brave new world where there are millions of businesses information gathering all the time?
Apparently the census is payed for by businesses because they are most interested in the data – is that of concern to our privacy? Is it really going to tell the government lots of things that they don’t already know?
Or perhaps I’m just an old cynic. What do you think? How many other countries do it to this level?
Expat Mum
March 27, 2011We had a census here not long ago and a lot of (anti Obama) people said they weren’t going to fill it in. God knows how they think the data will be accurate. The funny thing was that it was done via snail mail although I seemed to get a lot of e-mails telling me to complete it. Antiquated or what?
Stigmum
March 27, 2011If you fancy being depressed, I’ve got a link to a rather nasty bit info about that census…
http://stigmum.blogspot.com/2011/03/census-due-in-today.html
Was going to send it weeks ago then saw this footage. My heart weeps but I can’t boycott it and shall go and post it now…
tiddlyompompom
March 27, 2011My BIL works in public health and apparently they use the census data a lot to work out health needs etc.
kelloggsville
March 27, 2011I had decided to test the efficiency of the fine system but hubby decided it was a battle not worth fighting. Waste of time and money as far as I am concerned. I’ve not told them a jot of information a government body doesnt already know except who will be in my house on the 27th March and let’s face it, like you, most will just put the usual suspects and leave it at that. Accurate? unlikely.
fd
March 28, 2011back when i was a history student we used the census information a lot as a marker and test of various and varying things. of course its not perfect, but it does provide very useful snapshots on a regular basis of trends within a country, where people are moving to (really useful for planning allocations of resources, locations of schools, hospitals, pipe lines, electricity grid etc etc), smaller or bigger families, %disabled people, religious or not, actual number of people living in UK etc etc. there are other ways of looking at these questions but the Census groups lots of them together and provides a good baseline to look at other studies against. its true that the government and others do now hold loads of the information in separate bits and pieces but it would be more complicated and inaccurate and a little dodgy for the various departments/private entities to start trying to compile that into the whole.
kelloggsville
March 29, 2011I appreciated this balanced comment, it helped me to consider it more roundedly. Thanks FD.
Jennifer Howze
March 29, 2011Thanks for the reminder. just did mine!