Census Day

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon Excerpts

Monday 7th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, it is a household census; therefore the head of the household is responsible for accounting for the people within it on census day. When the Government examine the future of the census, the points that my noble friend has made will be borne in mind.

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon]

My Lords, it is rumoured that this will be the last census in its current form because of cost. Can the Minister confirm whether that is the case? If it is, how will such data be collected in future? These data are important not only for current planning purposes but for historical purposes as well.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I thank the noble Baroness for that question. The cost of conducting a census is £487 million—an enormous sum which Governments have found has augmented over time. The Government are indeed looking at alternative methods. It may be possible to have much more real-time information—after all, at the end of the 10-year period, the data are already very out of date. A project beyond 2011 has been set up to provide and examine alternatives to the current paper-based method of collecting these data. It will report within the next three or four years.