Census

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall Excerpts

Monday 13th June 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

No, it is entirely voluntary, but I would hope that people would realise why it is important to complete the survey.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

My Lords, if it is the purpose of this survey to ensure that the information on the census forms is, broadly speaking, accurate, is it possible to ensure that Members of this House are included in that survey? I wonder whether the Minister is aware that the way that the census form was designed made it extremely difficult for people who are Members of this House to give accurate information about how they spend their working days.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I struggled a little to complete my own form and was rather embarrassed by that considering that I have occasionally to answer questions on the subject. So I understand exactly what she is saying. However, I can reassure her that were she part of the postcode lottery—that is, the postcode selected for this interview process—she might indeed find that somebody wanted to interview her about her census form. If so, it would be a very much abbreviated questionnaire compared with the one that she was asked to fill in in the first place.